Return to Eternia Book One: Arrival
by thew40
Summary: Rewrite of The Final Adventure. After five years on Primus, HeMan returns to find his homeworld need of a hero! Please R&R!
1. Prelude

Author's Note:

99 of the characters presented in this story are the property of Mattel and Filmation and do not belong to me in anyway. This is a Fanfiction, written solely for the entertainment of its readers and myself. I make zero cash off of this.

This is a re-write of the original "The Final Adventure." It is the beginning of much longer fanfic that will now be in tune with the fanfics written since then. It is therefore in the same continuity as "Preludes and Beginnings," "He-Man: Year One," "The Day That Nothing Happened," "The Elfsong of Eternia," "The Crossroads of Destiny," "Prophecy & Change," "Just Another Day," "Liberty and Valor," "Manifest Destiny," "Roots," "Deus Ex Machina," "My Blue Reflection," and "The Last Battle." It will fit around "A Winter's Heart" and "The Shroud of the Horde," though both may be edited to fit with slight changes in the continuity.

Enjoy!

* * *

Previously:

The fallen Prince Keldor became the warlord Skeletor and warred with the forces of Castle Grayskull and Eternos. This drew him into conflict with Prince Adam, who used the power of Grayskull to transform himself into the mighty He-Man. For many years, neither one knew they were fighting a blood relative.

Until now.

On the distance world of Primus, He-Man was pitted against Skeletor amongst an interplanetary war involving the citizens of Primus and the Mutants of Denebria. As the final battle between Primus and Denebria drew to a close, their true identities were revealed. He-Man then managed to put Skeletor and the Mutant female Critta into a space vessel and launched it into the depths of space. With the war over and Skeletor in exile, He-Man has chosen to return home.

Home. Where his long-lost sister Adora had taken up the mantle of She-Ra. Where King Hiss had been dealt a hefty blow. Where the ancient enemy Hordak was imprisoned on Etheria. And where the one he had loved for many, many years – Teela – waits for him.

But this was the status quo when He-Man left Eternia for Primus. He has no idea what awaits for him now.

* * *

Prelude

The stars drifted before him as he sped towards Eternia. Towards his home. His race had nearly been won. The time of his return was at hand.

The time . . . of his betrayal.

Zanthos, the Eternian-born Cosmic Enforcer, fled from the stars and shot towards his homeworld. He knew that both He-Man and Skeletor were gone. They had left nearly three years ago. He also knew what had happened to both Eternia and Etheria in their absence. He knew that he was partially to blame for that . . .

Years ago, after the end of the Third Age but before He-Man rose, he had given to Skeletor the Golden Discs of Knowledge. These were powerful items that he had hoped that Skeletor would be able to access and translate. Skeletor had been among the greatest powers then, though only a select few knew that at the time.

What knowledge Skeletor had gained from the Golden Discs had been used for only evil. It was too late when Zanthos discovered that. The Spirits of the Elders rose up against him and trapped in a phantom form. It was only through the mighty He-Man that Zanthos had found redemption. The Golden Discs were given to the Cosmic Enforcers and Zanthos was accepted into their ranks.

But . . . Zanthos' guilt got to him. He began to see the broader picture. He knew some of the Cosmic Enforcer's plans, but not all of them. And for the sake of homeworld, he had given in to his instincts and raced home in the hope of revealing the truth to the people still living there.

He made touchdown in far north of Eternos, at the City of Wisdom. Once upon a time, this university had been the Hall of Wisdom, home of the Council of Elders. No longer, however.

Zanthos knew Eternia far more than the other Cosmic Enforcers. He could hide out long enough for He-Man or Skeletor to arrive. There was nothing anyone else could do at this point, anyways. Was he too fast? Should he have gone to Primus?

"Zanthos!"

Zanthos spun around and saw one of his fellow Cosmic Enforcers standing before him. Strobo.

"What are you doing here, my friend? Why did you retake one of the Golden Discs?"

"That is none of your concern."

Strobo stepped closer. "Zanthos, I can understand your concern for these people, but what is done is done. We must allow events unfold on their own now. There is nothing more for us to do."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Zanthos, you are a fellow Cosmic Enforcer. I would hate to have to use force . . ."

"You're going to have to!" Zanthos shouted and unleashed a bolt from his hand.

Strobo was struck square in the face, stunned that Zanthos would strike so hard and so fast. He tumbled back, off-balance. Zanthos rushed forward. Strobo recovered quickly.

A circle on his chest opened up and unleashed a blue light that spotlighted on Zanthos. A white burst of lightning flared out from the center of the light. The lightning struck Zanthos heavily. It skewed through his body light a knife.

"No!" he grunted. "I will not be defeated this way!"

Strobo floated over. "I am sorry, Zanthos. I tried to offer you a chance to help you. You've had more than enough chances at redemption."

"I AM NOT AFTER REDEMPTION!" Zanthos shouted. A beam of energy fired from both hands. Strobo blocked it with a force field.

"Then what do you seek?" asked Strobo. A white light fired out from his chest open and it burned at Zanthos.

"JUSTICE! SALVATION FOR MY PEOPLE!"

"You're confused."

Zanthos unleashed a massive series of lightning bolts from his fingers. They struck at Strobo with intense ferocity, causing him to fall back.

"NO! No, don't you understand? For the first time in a long time, I see everything with perfect clarity!"

"See this!" Strobo countered and the light turned red. Again, a lightning bolt fired out, but this one was larger and much more destructive. It hit Zanthos square in the chest and blasted right through him. Zanthos fell the ground in a heap, dead. His helmet rolled across the cobblestone ground. He was dead.

Strobo conducted a complete search of the body and the surrounding area, but found nothing. Zanthos had left for Eternia with a Golden Disc of Knowledge with him. But where it was now . . . was beyond even this Cosmic Enforcer.

He incinerated Zanthos' body, then lifted up into the night sky, headed back towards the stars.


	2. Coming Home

Chapter One: "Coming Home"

Adam awoke as he had for the past seven weeks and three days. The alarm beeped, the lights faded on, and after a pleasant sleep, his senses came alive. The Prince of Eternos sat up in his bed. He scratched the back of his head, cracked his back, stretched his arms, and yawned. And then he smiled.

Today was the day. Today, after five years, three months, two weeks, and five days, Adam was coming home. Excitement filled him as he lifted himself out of bed. His cabin on Starship Eternia had been decorated in various momentos from both Eternia and Primus. He had made it quite comfortable and homey following his leaving from Primus and his subsequent seven weeks plus travel back to Eternia.

He walked outside of his cabin and entered the bridge. Gleep, one of the two robots that had accompanied him on his journey home, sat at the controls. He had had night watch.

"Gleep, activate day mode."

Gleep complied. The dimmed lights went to full. The front windows were filled with stars, but there was one brighter than all others. As they approached this star in Trans-Hyperspace, Adam's smile grew even larger.

"How long?"

"Four point five hours."

"Go ahead and have U-R relieve you, but I want you both on-line when we make the landing."

"Affirmative."

Adam went back to the cabin and into the small restroom. There was shower within it and Adam used it. Afterwards, he immersed himself in busy-work. But his thoughts continue to roam to those friends and family on Eternia. Randor, Marlena, Adora, Duncan, Cringer, Orko . . . Teela.

It was Teela that he thought of the most. Back on Primus, she had held most of his thoughts whenever he would talk or think back to Eternia. Despite his seeing of Mara, she believed he was still in love with Teela, and was hiding behind excuses.

Perhaps that was true.

The last hour or so, Adam took to the bridge. U-R, the other robot sent along with He-Man/Adam, was far better behaved and mostly communicated in beeps. U-R piloted the ship easily into the Eternian star system.

"Computer," addressed Adam, "estimate time to arrival?"

"One hour."

Adam smiled. Soon, Gleep joined both Adam and U-R on the bridge and assumed a secondary navigational station. After a few achingly long minutes, Adam pressed a few keys, hoping to contact his old friends and family on the planet surface about his arrival.

"Capital city Eternos – this is Prince Adam. I'm coming in for a landing. I'll be there in one hour. Please respond."

He paused a second, listening only to static fill the empty void of words. Something was wrong. Eternia had always kept an eye on the heavens above; this now should have been no different. They were well within range of the communications array that Man-At-Arms had set up. He was broadcasting right to it.

"Computer: display solar system," Adam ordered.

A hologram of the Eternian star system fizzled to life before Adam. However, despite displaying all the planets, both Eternia and Etheria seemed to be struggling to register. They were fading in and out. In fact, Etheria looked as though it was completely black.

"What's wrong with the sensor array?"

Gleep looked to a control panel and his fingers whizzed across it. A few read-outs appeared on a nearby monitor.

"The sensor array is on-line and working, Adam."

"Then why are we having trouble detecting Eternia and Etheria?"

Gleep paused, once more working at hard at his station. "It appears to be heavy levels of mystical energy. It is confusing our sensors."

"Oh," Adam replied. Both Eternia and Etheria were very mystical worlds, so that could have been the reason why the Starship Eternia would have trouble piercing their magical fields with its sensors. "Prepare to take us in for a landing, U-R. Bring us down at Eternos, at the coordinates I specified."

"Shifting for landing," U-R responded.

"Vessel approaching," Gleep suddenly announced.

"What?!"

"Bearing towards us at high speeds. No match in database."

"Show me."

On a nearby monitor watched as the newcomer appeared. The ship was small and spherical, but held two very large weapons on its sides. He had never seen anything like it before.

Adam took command of the situation. "Prepare to open a comm-line to the vessel."

The words had not escaped his lips when the weapons of the vessel fired. Adam automatically raised the shields and the weapons fire slammed against them. Normally, this would have been enough to deflect energy weapons. But there was something different about the weapons from this ship.

"The shields are destabilizing!" yelped Gleep.

"What in the world is going on here?"

The Starship Eternia shook and shuddered as the vessel fired again, this time hitting the hull. U-R started beeping wildly.

"That was the main engines! Some sort of electro-magnetic fusion weapon has damaged and shut them down!" Gleep yelled out now.

"Return fire!"

Gleep went to work at the weapons controls, lasers firing rapidly at the attacker. The small engines that sat behind the spherical vessels blew out immediately, followed by one of the guns. Adam sighed and turned to U-R.

"How bad is the damage?"

"Engines are out."

"And the attacking ship?"

"Looks like a total burn-out. They're drifting out of orbit."

"What about us?"

Gleep pressed a number of keys. "We can not maintain our orbit. Without the engines, we are going to have to land. We can use the thrusters to land us on safe ground, but not at Eternos as you wished."

Adam sighed. "Okay. Do your best."

The hero of both Primus and Eternia looked forward as fire began to encase his own vessel. This was going to be a rough landing . . .

* * *

Then:

"_Prince Adam and I are going to Primus to help against evil forces threatening to destroy it," He-Man told his friends on that dismal, rainy afternoon. The Great Hall of the Towers of Eternia was filled to the brim with old allies, new friends, and great warriors._

_A wave on uneasiness came upon them all. Teela was the first to speak. "What about the forces of Skeletor?" she asked, hoping to find some way of making him stay._

_"Skeletor has already left. He stole a shuttle and made it there. When he learned that the power of Grayskull were going to transferred to me, he stole one of the ships shuttles and headed through time/space," He-Man explained._

_"Then, I suppose you have no choice," said Man-At-Arms. "You must defeat Skeletor. I only hope that your victory is swift and your return is soon."_

_"I hope so too, Duncan."_

* * *

The Starship Eternia landed roughly on a beach. Fifty feet away, the surf crashed against the sand. An afternoon sun hung above the water. It was the Sea of Rahkash and as Adam emerged from the Starship Eternia, he knew just where he was. The Fertile Plains and due east of Eternos. As Adam walked out the gangway, his red-feathered cybernetic bird by the name of Clobber came soaring out as well.

He was back on Eternia, all right.

"Mmmmm," he hummed, soaking in the fresh air. "I've missed this place so much."

He couldn't help but notice the differences in the air between Eternia and Primus. On Primus, it seemed so artificial . . . so sterile for some reason. Here, it came very naturally and took to his nose very easy. It was the little things.

He wanted to make for Eternos immediately. As He-Man, he could be there by dawn. But he had priorities. Adam's first concern was the safety of the ship. Gleep and U-R had told him that they needed to do a complete shut down to make the necessary repairs. That worked out, he supposed. But he was still worried about that other ship.

"I want the cloaking device on at all times," Adam ordered them. "Clobber here will be your look-out. If something goes wrong, contact me immediately and do what you can to keep you and the ship safe."

"Understood," Gleep replied.

"Compliance!" U-R stated.

"Okay. I'll be back as soon as get to Eternos and get a hold of a Sky-Sled or Wind-Raider." Adam smiled. The thought of returning to Eternos was now more than just a fantasy on lonely nights back on Primus.

"BY THE POWER OF ETERNA!" Adam then shouted, raising the Sword of Power above his head. As energy warped and power exploded, Adam went through a dazzling transformation. In his place was now He-Man. "I HAVE THE POWER!"

As he started on his way, He-Man decided that as soon as he had gone to Eternos and seen everyone, he would make for Castle Grayskull and make right his calling of its power. The days of 'By the power of Eternia' were soon going to be behind him.

He-Man grinned and struck forth towards where he knew the Palace of Eternia and Eternos was. He knew of a town some four or five miles up the coast, but he decided against going there. He wanted to see his friends again. He wanted to see his home again.

* * *

Then:

_The_ Starship Eternia _floated above Castle Grayskull. The rain from the previous day had moved on and the bright, sunny day was ending with a beautiful sunset._

_Adam stood before his closets of friends - Adora, Man-At-Arms, Orko, Teela, and Cringe; as well as his parents King Randor and Queen Marlena. They each held a strong and very certain sadness for this day._

_"I will miss you all," said Adam. He shook Man-At-Arms hand. "Take care of everyone, Duncan."_

_"I will, Adam. By my honor and my heart, I swear I will."_

_Orko immediately flew over and grabbed hold of Adam's leg. "Don't go! I'll miss you too much!" shouted the Trollian._

_Adam bent down and hugged his old mage friend. "It'll be alright. I'll be back in no time."_

_"You promise?"_

_"Of course I do!"_

_Orko smiled. Adam was then confronted with his oldest and most trusted of dear friends - Cringer._

_"I don't want you to go," said Cringer._

_"I know, Cringer. I'll miss you."_

_Cringer bent his head close to Adam's ear. "I'll come with you. I'm afraid, but I'll come with you."_

_"No, my dearest friend. I'm sorry. But I'll see you soon. Watch over all of them. Be brave."_

_Teela walked over. "Adam, I . . ." she started, her words only seeming lost to her._

_"Shhhh," he reassured. Adam wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be back. Me and He-Man."_

_"Right. Good journey, Adam," Teela replied, kissing him slightly on the cheek._

_King Randor stepped next to Adam. "Son, be careful."_

_"I will father. I will."_

_"Represent us well, Adam," said Marlena. "I will miss you on your long journey. I am saddened to have both my children on entire different planets!"_

_"Not to worry, Mother. I will return as soon as He-Man and I are completed in our mission."_

_Marlena kissed her only son and stood back._

_Adam looked into his twins eyes, a tear running down his cheek. "I don't want to go sis, but I have too. I have no other choice."_

_Adora smiled as a tear ran down her own._

_"I know. I wish there was a way I could go with you, but Hordak's not likely to follow. I'm going to miss you very much. It's bad enough that I don't see you as often as I'd like."_

_Adam took his sister in a tight hug. It was time._

"_Farewell," said Adam then, heading into Castle Grayskull, where he would be teleported up. "Until our next meeting!"_

* * *

He-Man sat against a large tree as darkness began to creep up around him. He didn't feel much like sleeping and just desired to go home. But a little rest never hurt anyone, he figured.

As he drank from his canteen, he couldn't help but feel as if something was slightly out of place. As if something was . . . wrong. Something was reaching out. Something in the air . . . it was . . . it was . . .

He-Man leapt to his feet and put away his canteen. Immediately, he ran through the forest, down the old road that led to the Palace.

For some reason, he felt compelled to leave the road and travel now beside it, in the shadow and protection of the trees. So, as he ran, he made his way under the trees and continued his rush to the Palace of Eternos.

* * *

Then:

_"He-Man, we've got a bit of a problem," Flipshot said to He-Man the next day as He-Man met with him and Hydron at Galactic Guardians headquarters._

_"What is it?"_

_"Well, we assumed your return trip would be the same as what we took to get you here, but there's been . . . an ugly development," Hydron explained._

_"I don't like the sound of that."_

_"Yeah, I don't blame you," Flipshot added._

_"We contacted the Galactic Council to verify your trip back. It turns out that a major chunk of space you were to be traveling in is sealed off."_

_"Why? How?"_

_"The collapse of the Horde Empire has led to a massive number of Horde generals striking out on their own and eventually creating a huge civil war that stretches far beyond the Horde's initial reach. As a result, a large expanse of space has been sealed off by a combination of the Cosmic Enforcers, the Galactic Council, and the Intergalactic Police," Hydron reported. "Now, it's possible to go around it, but we're talking about weeks and weeks of travel. We estimate up to seven weeks of travel time."_

* * *

He-Man's feet pounded across the forest floor as he hurried to the Palace of Eternia. Thoughts soared through his head - wondering what was going on. He pushed past the brush and the foliage, as he grew ever closer to the place he called home.

Five years was a long time.

He wondered what had changed. What everyone looked like. And perhaps most of all - why he felt a foreboding sense of dread before him.

All of these thoughts ceased when he came to a clearing a top a peak looking down upon Palace and the city of Eternos. His heart seemed to skip a beat and he gasped loudly.

In the dawning light, He-Man looked down upon the once great city of Eternos and felt a terrible sadness overcome his heart and mind. The Palace itself looked as though it had been cleaved in two, as massive gapping hole sitting at its center, where the entrance should have been.

The very walls that served as the defenses of Eternos since day unknown were missing, exposing the city nakedly to the world. Buildings, towers, homes, and bridges were in shambles.

"What . . . what could have done this . . .?" he wondered aloud.

All thoughts and all words fell silent as he charged down the mountain and straight towards the remains of his home.

It was usually a two-hour long trek between the two locations, but for He-Man, it only took twenty minutes. As soon as he entered the outer wall, his jaw dropped. Not only was the city a mess, but it was being overgrown with plants and being worn by weather.

The doors to the Eternos were gone, though the bridge was intact. He walked into the city, blue eyes scanning for any sign of life or hope. He found none. All he did find was evidence of war. A war that happened at least three years ago, from his estimations. Perhaps longer.

Regret filled him. Could he have prevented this? If he had remained on Eternia, could this have been stopped? Who did it? The Snake-Men? Evil-Lynn and the Evil Warriors? Count Marzo, returned from his exile on Earth? Faker, before he chased He-Man to Primus?

Rats and other such animals scurried away from his footsteps as He-Man came to the entrance of the Palace. A huge section of the wall was gone, leaving a huge section of the Palace exposed. His home had been decimated.

He walked the long hallways, seeing evidence of nothing but violence. The armory had been emptied and He-Man continually passed broken weapons on the ground. He-Man entered the library out of despair and was a bit more than surprised to find that all of the shelves were empty and bare, as if someone had wanted to save the books during whatever battle had smashed Eternos.

He-Man wandered into his old room and a hole in the wall. Dry leaves had apparently drifted and covered both the floor and his bed. Both were quite dirty. He could hear an animal scurry about and saw a Rat rush from the bed to the closet. He-Man didn't even want to look at the closet. But he did. His clothes still hung, neat and orderly, if not layered in dust.

All things of value, he soon discovered as he wandered from room to room, were gone, long since stolen. The Palace was empty and quiet, though a breeze blew in.

He-Man walked along the overgrown garden that stood now next to a stagnate and algae-filled pond. The courtyard was worn with weather. He-Man's path eventually took him to Man-At-Arms' old lab.

He was not surprised to find it in shambles. The shelves that held his various devices and parts were smashed on top of each other. The computers and larger equipment were either destroyed or removed completely. The pit where he worked on some of larger inventions was now open to the rest of the world, though it looked as though it had been blasted from the inside out.

He-Man looked into the massive garage where once sat Attack Tracks, Battle Rams, Dragon Walkers, and Road Rippers was empty, though there was no evidence of destruction.

He-Man's final visit was to the throne room. As the first rays of sunlight began to shine through, the throne room was perhaps the hardest hit for He-Man. Holes in the wall brought forth a sad beauty as the light of the rising sun gleaned off the thrones. Leaves as well drifted here and dirt and dust was spread out across what was once a perfectly clean room.

"What happened here?" he asked, speaking for the first time since arrival.

He-Man walked through the rest of the Palace, finding hallways raided of all things of value or worth. He looked into Teela's room, which was almost completely empty – including her closet, which was a bit odd considering his was untouched. _Of course,_ he thought with bitter humor, _mine was filled with pink vests and purple pants._

He-Man eventually found himself coming back to Man-At-Arms' laboratory. He picked along the equipment until he finally found himself back in the pit. It was there he found something.

Underneath the remains of a workbench was Man-At-Arms secret, impenetrable vault. He-Man smiled and walked over to it. He placed his thumb on a small metal circle on the top.

After a brief moment, the vault unlocked and the door opened. Within was a number of Man-At-Arms key inventions, but there was also something else. A holographic projector.

He-Man pulled out the projector and saw two words on top: 'Play Me.' He-Man did so.

A hologram of Man-At-Arms was projected before him.

"He-Man!" shouted the hologram of Man-At-Arms. "If you are seeing this message, then it means you've returned to Eternia. As you have probably already guessed, Eternos has been attacked. I'm not sure if you know by who yet, but it was the Horde. The details are sketchy, but we know that at some point about three months after you left for Primus, Etheria went dark. We have since been unable to reach them. After that, Hordak came to Eternia and built up an army of Horde Troopers. The Great Towers have fallen and so has Eternos.

"Your parents have been transported to Earth by the Cosmic Key. Eternos itself has been invaded by the Horde. The Heroic Warriors have all but fallen. I can only assume that if you're seeing this message, then nothing has changed. Know that you are the only capable of saving Eternia. We need you now more than ever." Man-At-Arms then paused and looked back. He then turned back to the projector. "They are here!"

The hologram faded away.

He-Man sat in silence for a moment.

Then he heard movement. His eyes perked up and he saw a Horde Trooper standing at the breached wall, laser pistol pointing straight at the champion of Grayskull.

"I processed I heard someone."

The Horde Trooper fired. He-Man easily deflected the beam with his newly christened Shield of the Galactic Guardians. Lightning fast, then, He-Man sliced the robots laser-holding arm off, then smashed his entire head in. This was followed up by punched the Horde Trooper into the remains of the wall.

"Hey!" shouted another Horde Trooper, one of three.

He-Man concentrated. The last thing he wanted was Hordak to know he was on Eternia. His Primian battle armor appeared over his chest and abdomen, a thing of golden metal infused with some technology. Along with this came a helmet that he quickly put on.

He-Man then went to work and quickly destroyed all three of the Horde Troopers.

The hero of Primus and Eternia then turned to the nearest exit and started towards it. He-Man made for north. To Castle Grayskull.


	3. Return to Grayskull

Chapter Two – "Return to Grayskull"

As He-Man made for the Evergreen Forest, he veered westward. He followed no roads, instead choosing to travel through the wilderness of northern Eternos to the edges of the Fertile Plains. He knew better than to take the roads, as they were most certainly being watched. So, therefore, he made west. West also had an ally that He-Man hoped was still free from Hordak's tyranny

He paused once, as the sun began to set. He-Man's trip was made longer by his off-beat course, but that was the price to pay for secrecy. He-Man stopped for a few moments near the bank of a small pond. He sat down and pulled off his helmet. He wasn't quite ready to get rid of the armor. Plus, it would allow him to remain in secret.

The hero reached over to a small tree and pulled off an apple fruit and took a big bite. He was hungry, all right. He-Man paused and leaned against the tree as he rested. A few minutes were all he needed.

Just as he was about to completely relax (at least, relax as far in the state he was in), he heard the sound of people approaching. Not just any people, he realized, but Horde Troopers.

He-Man pulled his helmet back on and rolled into the brush. The Troopers passed by.

"Units 457-460 have been destroyed near the ruins of Eternos."

"Probably the rebels."

"Maybe. Though my memory files seem to process different. It was said they were last seen closer to the Desert."

"I don't know. It's been a long time since we've seen an attack like that."

"Not too long."

"No. Process it. The rebels tend to only blow stuff up. This person - or persons - went to a lot of trouble slicing and dicing."

"Maybe it was Snake Mountain."

"Ha! Good one! They would never break their treaty with . . ."

And then they grew farther away from He-Man's hearing. He paused until he was sure they were gone. Then, he filled his cantina, grabbed another apple and ran as hard as he could.

His feet smashed onto the ground as He-Man surged forward. He was close now and in the early morning hours began to sweep in, He-Man felt a bit of hope that would meet with some familiarity.

He came to a stop in between two low cliffs. His blue ran along the stone walls, which were perfectly intact. This helped confirm what he thought. The lair of Gwildor was still here and that Gwildor was still alive and well. He-Man pulled off his helmet and spoke clearly.

"Gwildor!" he shouted. "It is He-Man! I have returned!" There was no response. He-Man counted down the seconds. "I need your help," he said. "I've come back from Primus and need your help in finding the other Heroic Warriors and the king and queen!" He-Man paused, wanting a full minute for a response. There came none.

At last, he summoned his battle-axe. It appeared in his hand, glowing as teleported from Castle Grayskull. The Battle-Axe of the Heroic Warriors, having been engraved with each of their names a few years ago.

"I have with me the Battle-Axe of the Heroic Warriors. It was rechristened during the bon-fire we held at Eternos following all that business with Count Marzo, the Pelicons, the Spiders, and Snout Spout! You were there!"

He-Man stepped forward. Suddenly, part of the stone wall moved aside and revealed a thick, black door. After a few seconds, this door opened up, revealing a small room within. He-Man walked into the small room and the door behind him slammed shut and locked. He could then hear the stone wall door coming closed.

"How do I know it's really you?" asked Gwildor through an intercom outside of the small room.

"The Battle-Axe isn't enough?"

A blue flickered flashed quickly. He was being scanned.

"I don't know."

He-Man rolled his eyes and forced himself to be patient. "When we were on Earth after we first met, you wore women's clothes. Later, Queen Marlena referred to you as being 'in drag.'"

There was a long pause and He-Man again counted off the seconds. Suddenly, the entire room came apart, revealing Gwildor's cave-like home before him. Gwildor himself stood before He-Man, eyes wide in wonder.

"It is you," Gwildor said in bewilderment. "We were losing hope?"

"We?"

"The others."

"Which others?"

"There aren't many of us left, but a few. Come in! Come in!"

He-Man followed Gwildor into the lab, head lowered. "I know the gist of what is going on. Hordak has conquered most of Eternia. Eternos in shambles. The King and Queen on Earth. But what about the Heroic Warriors? And who is left?"

"Yes, yes," Gwildor responded. "Only a handful of people are left. Teela, Clamp Champ, Stratos, and Mekaneck."

"Thank the Ancients," he whispered upon hearing that Teela was among those alive and free. "What about the others? Man-At-Arms? Orko?"

"From what we can discern, they are in Doom Tower. It was converted into a massive prison," Gwildor explained. They were walking over to a door. Gwildor opened the door and revealed an incline that took them into another, lower chamber. In this lower chamber was secondary lab and an internal garden.

"Hordak controls much of Eternia, spreading out from the Central Tower, which he has made his base. Eternos is all under his control, as is Fantus, Targa, Tahrin, and most of the other kingdoms of Man. The Avions and the Insectoids have long since abandoned their homes, hiding into a secluded corner of the Mystic Mountains."

"What about the Cats and the Bears? King Randor put into place that military alliance a number of years ago. Shouldn't they have helped against the Horde?"

Gwildor took in a deep breath. "The Cats, Bears, Elves, Widgets, and Dragons all vanished."

"What do you mean 'vanished?'"

Gwildor shrugged. "The only thing I know is that all their representatives were recalled to their kingdoms. A day or two later, they were all gone."

He-Man sat down in a nearby chair. This was almost too much information at once.

"I need to get to Castle Grayskull. Undetected, if possible. I need the Cosmic Key."

Gwildor smiled. He walked over to a table had a small garden on it. After fiddling around with a number of hidden locks, the Cosmic Key came sliding up from the bed of dirt. Gwildor picked up and turned his back to He-Man. After a moment or two, he turned back to He-Man.

"It is ready. I built in a number of security precautions into it. Now, only you can use it to open a portal to Grayskull."

He-Man smiled. "Good idea."

Gwildor went about setting the coordinates. He-Man, in the meantime, looked down at the Sword of Power. He had a number of questions for the Sorceress. Even after what learned about him and Skeletor on Primus, there were still now the questions about Eternia. Chief among them was why she hadn't told him about the Horde's invasion?

"Ready."

He-Man stood up and Gwildor handed him the Cosmic Key. He-Man pressed the activation button. There was a long pause as the new security system read his finger print. Then, the Cosmic Key swirled, it's metallic forks unfolding and spinning. Music began to ring out and light and energy formed above the Cosmic Key.

He-Man then looked to his right as a blue and white portal opened. Gwildor, who He-Man now saw had gone a little gray at the tips of his bushy red hair, walked alongside He-Man as the pair entered.

The end of the portal deposited both He-Man and Gwildor on the floor of the Castle. He-Man stood immediately. Behind him was the closed jawbridge of the incredible Caste Grayskull. Before him and Gwildor were two large, wooden doors that were criss-crossed and reinforced with metal.

He-Man took no time in stepping forward and opening those two doors. He and Gwildor entered into the main throne chamber of Castle Grayskull. It was dark - darker than he had ever seen it. But this darkness made a figure stand out.

The Sorceress sat up from the throne and smiled at He-Man and Gwildor.

"Welcome home," she greeted, wearing a thin smile.

"Thank you. I'd like to say it's good to be back, but with everything that has happened . . ." He-Man paused. "We need to talk, you and I."

"I agree," the Sorceress replied. "Gwildor, it is also good to see you again."

"The same, Sorceress," Gwildor responded, bowing a little.

"Gwildor, He-Man and I have much to discuss in private. There is a kitchen off the northern corridor, second door on the right. If you could fix us breakfast, I would appreciate it."

Gwildor nodded and walked along. The Sorceress walked down from the throne and over to He-Man.

"Your travels?"

"Long. You're right. We have a lot to talk about."

The Sorceress nodded. "The Horde."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What difference would it have made? You were needed on Primus more than you were needed on Eternia."

"I can't justify that. Eternia was my home, Primus wasn't."

"Only a few people have perished as a result of Hordak's arrival, He-Man. A very, very small amount compared as to how many would have died on Primus had the Mutants invaded. And having known that Hordak invaded and conquered most of Eternia would have done you no good during your stay on Primus other than to upset you."

"And what about Castle Grayskull? You can't tell me that Hordak never tried to breach it."

"He did not," she replied.

"Really? Why not?"

"The last time Hordak attempted to claim the power of Grayskull, he was confronted with the power of the Elders. His bond with them had nearly been the end of him. The last thing Hordak wants is to renew that bond. So, he has set-up a small observation post here to keep watch over Castle Grayskull, but that is all."

"Did you offer to help the Heroic Warriors?"

"My power has been limited as a result of your time on Primus. And, there would have been nothing I could have done."

"Did you offer them sanctuary?"

The Sorceress shook her head. "No. To have done that would have made Castle Grayskull a target. But it was also never asked of me."

He-Man sat down on a nearby chair and hung his head. "This is insane. My homeworld was being destroyed while I was off fighting someone else's war."

"He-Man, you saved more lives on Primus than you would have here. You must not regret your decision. You have found your way home, where the light of hope is small but bright. You can save Eternia. You can help restore Eternos."

He-Man nodded a little, then looked up. "I understand your reasons for not telling me, but that does not mean that I am happy about you keeping all of this a secret."

The Sorceress sighed. "I suppose that is the best I can hope for."

He-Man looked away and a moment of silence passed between them. "How did this happen?" he then asked. "The last time I checked, Hordak was de-powered, the Fright Zone destroyed and Doom Tower stripped of anything of value. In fact, a new Whispering Woods had been created to imprison him. What happened? How did this happen?"

"Hordak found something I once thought lost."

"What is that?"

"The Sword of Deception. It was part of the same set of swords that includes the Swords of Power, Protection, and Darkness. Long since stolen and thought lost, I had felt it was no longer a problem. Hordak had managed to get his hands on it."

"How was it stolen? When was it stolen?"

The Sorceress paused and turned away. But then, after a long moment, she turned back to him. "Skeletor took it from Castle Grayskull when he took the Sword of Darkness. Duncan stopped him."

"Was this before or after he became Keldor?"

Her eyes widened with shock at that name and that it came from He-Man. "How did -?"

"During our final battle, he had found a way to take my power and join with his own. I was transformed into Prince Adam. After that, Skeletor revealed to me that he was my long-lost Uncle Keldor. Why didn't you tell me?"

The Sorceress' expression was now wrought with worry. "He knows who you are?"

"Yes. Sorceress - "

"You said to me before you left that Skeletor was in exile. Are you certain? Are you sure?"

"Yes. He was flying so fast, he had actually ended up in another part of that galaxy. Sorceress, what is going on here?"

She shook her head. "Something we must discuss at a later date."

"What do you mean? What needs to be discussed?"

"He-Man. Your priority must be Hordak! After that, we shall talk about the potential ramifications of Skeletor's knowing your identity."

"Okay. But I want some answers. Enough to satisfy me."

"You deserve as much. The story of Keldor and Skeletor is one treachery. It was never revealed to you as your grandfather King Miro wanted to keep it a secret at the advisement of Eldor, leader of the Elders."

She then related the tale to him. How Prince Keldor felt that to prove his worth to his family and to rise to the throne, he helped a band of Orcs led by Morgoth come to Eternos. Keldor had then hoped that such a threat to Eternos would cause Castle Grayskull to appear. It did so and Keldor's treachery paid off. He had been able to enter Castle Grayskull. He then ambushed the Sorceress and stole both the Swords of Darkness and Deception. Luckily, though, then Lieutenant Duncan was nearby and helped stop Keldor was from stealing the other swords. After confrontation, the Sword of Deception fell into the Abyss. The Sword of Darkness was now Keldor's. With this plot revealed, he was placed into exile and ex-communicated.

Years later, he joined Hordak and the Horde and became Hordak's apprentice. After betraying Hordak for reasons all his own, Keldor then formed the Council of Evil. It was during a battle with the Council of Elders that the Council of Evil was subsequently destroyed and Keldor became Skeletor. All those left from the Council of Evil went on to become the Evil Warriors.

She left out certain facts, however, such as the conception and birth of Teela. But when it was over, He-Man understood just about everything now. It didn't sit well with him, but now that he knew the truth of everything that had occurred, it all fit into place.

After this story was told, Gwildor returned to the throne room. The three of them then walked into the northeastern tower, which had a number of comfortable chairs. Windows allowed for the early morning light to pour in.

With Gwildor, their attention was forced to divert to less secretive matters – such as the now-dubbed Horde War Two.

"My knowledge is only slightly more than I'm sure Gwildors is," the Sorceress said to He-Man, sipping on some tea. "The Horde arrived after Etheria went dark. From what I can gather, all of Etheria was placed into some of state of suspended animation. For a while, it seemed the Whispering Woods was able to withstand this darkness. But in time, Hordak was able to pierce it and the Whispering Woods fell.

"For a long while, I believed that only Doom Tower was spared the darkness, but in time, I found that Skydancer Mountain and the Crystal Castle had managed to halt the darkness and have been able to remain hidden from Hordak's sight. I only just three months was able to telepathically reach Light-Hope. Adora, Bow, Glimmer, Castaspella, Flutterina, and Mermista are all that remains of the Great Rebellion, the rest having fallen into the darkness."

"Adam will be relieved to hear his sister is safe," He-Man said, conveying his relief to the Sorceress.

"Indeed."

"Gwildor, you had mentioned that a number of the other kingdoms had disappeared. Sorceress, what do you know of this?"

The Sorceress shook her head. "Only that there was a meeting between the Cats, Dragons, Elves, Widgets, and Bears. I believe they may have departed as a result of the Horde's impending invasion, but I do not for certain. However, there are other populations on Eternia."

Gwildor nodded and after swallowing a bite of muffin, answered. "From what I know, the Lizard-Men have burrowed deep into Eternia and have hidden themselves from the Horde best they can. The Fire-People has been able to hold up against the Horde, as has Moriana. I don't know anything about Arcadia."

"How about the Bats? Or the Aquaticans?"

"No word," Gwildor responded, "only that they didn't leave Eternia."

He-Man felt unsettled. "You had mentioned the Avions and the Insectoids."

"They've settled into the Mines of Alluray and have thus far, remained hidden from the Horde," Gwildor answered.

"Why haven't they struck against the Horde?"

Gwildor paused and looked to the Sorceress, then looked back at He-Man. "They've been waiting for you to return."

He-Man took in a deep breath and tried his best to smile. "Guess I should be getting used to hearing that, huh?"

"I would think so," the Sorceress answered.

"Queen Johanna? King Stephan? The rest of the Royal Family?"

"Prisoners of the Horde, in their dungeons."

"What's the word on this resistance cell led by Teela?"

"Mekaneck, Clamp Champ, and Stratos. All that remains of the Heroic Warriors with the rest incarcerated."

"I'm assuming that since you've just now been able to reach Light-Hope that Hordak has been able to prevent teleporting between Eternia and Etheria?" He-Man asked of the Sorceress.

"That is so, otherwise those remaining of the Great Rebellion would be here."

"I understand," He-Man replied. "Okay. I need to see Teela and her resistance cell. Gwildor, do you know where they are?"

"No, but I can teleport you there once I find out."

The Sorceress stood up. "I can find them. But He-Man, there is something we must do first."

He-Man handed her the Sword of Power. Once it was in her hands, the Sword of Power lit up with energy and light. She then returned it to him. "The Sword of Power has been restored," she said to him. "Now, let us find Teela and the others."


	4. Teela's Resistance

Chapter Three: "Teela's Resistance"

* * *

Across the Desert that afternoon, a large transport ship filled with Horde troops headed east towards the Great Towers. Nothing really out of the ordinary. The troops were in need of an up-grade and therefore, were ordered to report to the Great Towers for one.

"All ship systems are fully functional," said the commanding Trooper.

"Excellent. Continue on course," replied his second-in-command.

"Wait a minute," said a third. "What is that?"

The bridge crew looked out the large open area towards a sand dune. The transport slowed down so as to catch a glimpse of . . . something out there.

"It looks like some sort of . . . pole."

"Then why is it shrinking?"

"Wait! What is this?"

Suddenly, two missiles came barreling from the sand dune and smashed right into the transport ship. It exploded wildly. Two more missiles shot forth, completely demolishing the vessel. There was soon nothing more than burning debris on the sandy floor.

"Great shot!" shouted Teela from the sand dune.

"Thanks," answered Clamp Champ from the Battle Ram. "It's good to know this thing still's got it."

"Trouble," said Mekaneck suddenly.

"What is it?" asked Stratos, the final member of the rebellion.

"Someone checking out the debris."

"Do you know who he is?" Teela asked.

"No. He's armored."

"Friend or foe," mused Clamp Champ.

"Probably foe. He's on his way here. And fast."

Teela took immediate command of the situation. "Form a defensive barrier. I want to be completely prepared to ensnare him and - "

But she was too late. The armored figure appeared on top of the sand dune. Before anyone could say anything, Clamp Champ fired a beam of energy straight at him. The figure dodged it and fired a cord around Clamp Champ, trapping him completely.

"Hey!"

Stratos flew forward then, ready to pummel the figure. The figure dropped to the ground and fired a stun grenade at the flying hero.

Mekaneck came from behind, ready to bash the man's head in. The figure spun around and kicked the club out of his hand, then followed through and kicked Mekaneck to the ground, capturing him in a net.

Just then, Teela's snake staff caught figure off guard. He fell to the sand, but stood immediately. While he did this, he also unleashed a long, silver blade. He used this to block a thrust made by Teela.

"Who are you?" she asked harshly leaping back, watching the man move.

"You know who I am."

She leapt forward and went to strike hard against his shoulder. The man docked and struck her lightly in the abdomen. Teela slid over to kick him, but he blocked. She swung in with her staff, but it was blocked again.

"Did Hordak send you?"

"You know who I am, Teela."

It was then that Teela saw the sword the man was wielding. Her green eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

"It's mine," the man said and stepped back.

"Take off your helmet! NOW!"

The others were now started to stand. The man pulled off his helmet. Beneath it was the tan face, blonde hair, and blue eyes of He-Man. Teela stood in place, eyes wide and uncertain.

"Hello Teela."

"He-Man . . ." she whispered. "Is it really you?"

"Yes! It's him!" shouted Gwildor, clamoring over the sand dune.

Stratos, Clamp Champ, and Mekaneck stood up and surrounded him.

"It's me," He-Man said. "I'm back."

Teela's eyes started to water. She couldn't believe it. She leapt forward and tossed her arms around him. "You're back. You're home."

He hugged her and smiled. Despite the armor, it felt good to hold her close to him again. He missed her and didn't seem to realize just how much until this moment.

"He-Man, it's good to have you back," Mekaneck said, hand out. He-Man shook it after he and Teela released it.

"Nice to know we can turn this war against Hordak," Clamp Champ said, smiling wide as well.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that's good to know you're with us once more," Stratos added, rounding out the group.

He-Man smirked and looked over to the shell-shocked Teela, trying to figure just what she was thinking other than the pure surprise.

"I'd like to say it's good to be back – and it is – but considering the circumstances . . ." He-Man sighed. "Well, let's get to safety. We need to have a long talk about all this."

Teela looked to the others, and then back to He-Man. "There's a cave we use every now and then for refuge when we're on runs out here. We can go there for the night."

As they traveled out of the Desert and into the Sands of Fire, the hours rolled on by. He-Man had taken notice of just how much older Teela looked. Over five years ago, he had left her for Primus. And while she retained her figure and, of course, her looks, she was indeed older. Twenty-eight, to be precise.

It was the small differences that made it all.

The talk on the way to the cave was mostly from He-Man, who answered questions regarding Primus. Most of them came from Mekaneck and Clamp Champ. Stratos was in the sky, most of the time, keeping watch for danger and Teela was driving the Battle Ram. Gwildor had since used the Cosmic Key to get back to his home.

The evening sun set and the group arrived at a small cliff. At the bottom was a small cave where they parked the Battle Ram and hid it behind huge bushes. Then came a bit of a climb to another cliff. This one had a ledge that stuck out about ten feet.

"The walls of Eternos were torn down," Mekaneck explained, the group huddled around a small fire behind a large rock within the cave. "They were then shipped to all of the villages in the kingdom and were rebuilt to keep the villagers in."

"Appalling," He-Man grunted, the Prince in him angry at Hordak for desecrating the ancient Palace.

Clamp Champ continued. "From what we know, the farms are allowed to operate like normal, however . . ."

"However, anything that can vaguely be misconstrued as a weapon has been taken and melted down," Teela cut in. "Making it difficult to farm. The Horde keeps a close eye on everyone."

"What about the people of Eternos themselves?"

"Lubic was able to get out a third of the population. We have them hidden in that cavern I found with Queen Marlena a few years ago," Teela answered. "It's been a tough fit, but we've all survived."

"I'd like to see them."

"Tomorrow," Teela responded. "Where's Prince Adam?"

"Back at Castle Grayskull."

Teela nodded and He-Man noted a subtle bit of a disappointment in that nod.

"What are we to do now?" asked Stratos.

"According to the Sorceress, a few members of the Great Rebellion have been able to hold out in the hidden Crystal Castle. I figure we go there, grab them, storm Doom Tower, rescue the Heroic Warriors, bring them back here, clean them up, and destroy Hordak's empire."

"Sounds like a plan," Stratos laughed.

"More than just the Heroic Warriors are at Doom Tower. The entire Royal Guard is there," Clamp Champ said.

He-Man smiled. "Even better."

"We can't teleport them out."

"We'll figure that out. Hordak has some way of getting between Eternia and Etheria. It's all just a matter of finding out how," He-Man answered.

"Your plan sounds too good to be true," Mekaneck said then. "I mean, it's a good plan, but how are we supposed to get to Etheria? And even with all of the Heroic Warriors and the Royal Guard behind us, how can we defeat Hordak?"

"Well, as far as defeating Hordak goes, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall.' Hordak's set-up in the Great Towers, correct? It's just a matter of getting me into Grayskull Tower. Once we do that, I can handle Hordak. And as far getting to Etheria goes, well, Hordak doesn't know what I brought with me from Primus."

"And what would that be?" asked Clamp Champ.

"The best damn spaceship in the Tri-Solar System."

About an hour more of discussion later and He-Man walked out onto the ledge and sat down on a large, tablet-like rock. He pulled out his communicator and contacted the Starship Eternia.

"Gleep, what is your report?"

"All ship systems will be operational by morning."

"Cloaking status?"

"The cloak is operational."

"Any visitors?"

"None."

"Good. We'll be leaving tomorrow, probably in the afternoon or evening."

"Are we going back to Primus?"

"No. A planet in this solar system called Etheria. Check the star charts. It's the really dark one. Set-up a course for best possible speed."

"Affirmative."

"He-Man out."

"Was that your robot buddy?" asked Teela suddenly.

"Yeah."

She smiled and sat down next to him. "So . . . what was Primus like?"

"Beautiful," he said. "But not like Eternia. I came to love it, to be honest. I suppose when you fight for something for so long, you start to realize just what you're fighting for. But it wasn't home. It wasn't Eternia."

"No, it most certainly wasn't," she sighed.

There was a moment of silence between the two and they both looked out into the horizon; the sand dunes sat beneath a deep, star-studded sky. For some strange reason, the sensation of déjà vu came upon them. It came and went very quickly and neither one said anything about it.

"We . . . were afraid you would never return," Teela said then.

"I told you all I would."

"I know you did," replied Teela as she played with her long ponytail. "But when the Great Towers fell, then Eternos . . . well, it's five years later and you're finally back. People can lose hope in five years time."

"I'm here now."

"Yeah," she said, looking at him deeply. "You are. And I'm glad."

There was something she wasn't telling him. Something she was keeping a secret. He looked deeply at her, hoping to figure it out.

"What aren't you telling me?" he asked at last.

He watched as she seemed to decide what to do. "It doesn't matter," she answered, lying through her teeth.

"Teela . . ."

"Five years, He-Man. Life changes. And since Hordak came here, it's only changed more. I'm not going to sit here and pour my heart out to you about everything that's happened. But if you were expecting to come back to Eternia after you were done with Primus and expect everything to be the same, then are completely wrong."

"Don't blame me for leaving."

"I don't," she replied, trying honestly to cut down the aggression in her voice. "But without you, Eternia pretty much crumbled. My . . . _all _our lives crumbled. And yes, you probably a lot of good on Primus and that's great. I'm glad. You defeated Skeletor and sent him into exile and defeated Mutants and restored Primus."

He put his hand on hers. "And now it's time for to do that to Eternia," he said to her hard, but not harsh. Their eyes locked and she could see that he really meant it.

"Okay," she responded.

"Now what happened to you? You're hiding something."

She smirked just a little and kissed his cheek. "Why don't you get some rest, He-Man? I'll take up first watch."

He-Man sighed and looked back out to the horizon. "Okay."

"He-Man?"

"Yes."

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him and after a second, his kissed back. It was an amazing sensation, having been over five years since their lips last met.

"Welcome home," she said.

"Thanks," he replied, smirking now as well and turning back. "It really does feel good to be back."

* * *

Crossing through the Sands of Time was no easy thing to do, but the group had done it before. With the correct directions, it's fairly capable to get through without worrying about Hordak nor accidentally getting stuck in a legendary 'Time Storm.'

Nothing has been said of the previous kiss, but still - conversation continued through the group. As the morning rose, He-Man found that he and his fellow warriors spoke nothing but of the events while separated.

He-Man couldn't help but feel guilty. His stories seemed much more exciting and up lifting than theirs. But still, the entire group was taking them in large doses. In fact, it made them all feel a lot better and lightened the overall grim mood.

* * *

Mantenna stood above the wreckage of the transport that the rebels had destroyed. He opened a comm-link to the Great Towers.

"Master Hordak, it is true. The rebels have demolished the transport," Mantenna reported, his large eyes still surveying the area.

"Curse them!" shouted the power-hungry fiend. "Try to find them."

"We're trying, but many of their tracks have been whisked away. It's very difficult. I'm sorry to say, sir, but -"

Hordak snorted with rage. "But nothing! Find them! Find them all and bring them to me!"

* * *

After spending most of the day crossing the Plains of Perpetuia, the group walked up and down a series of grass covered hills. A lot of them had huge rocks jutting from the surface. At long last, they reached the base of a hill that had a small cavern.

"About time you came back."

He-Man looked up and saw the bald-headed Earthman Lubic standing on the hill. "Lubic!"

"Lot of people are going to look forward to seeing you again."

"I bet."

He-Man and the group walked into the cavern. Lubic pulled out a small key and pressed it on the wall of the cavern. Suddenly, the wall vanished, revealing a long set of stairs. Lubic led the way, followed, by Stratos, Clamp Champ, Mekaneck, Teela, and He-Man. As soon as He-Man walked in, the cavern wall reappeared.

"ATTENTION!" shouted Lubic as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, which was the entrance to massive cave. Two Royal Guards stood next to the door and stood straight up at Lubic's arrival and announcement.

When He-Man walked through the door, it was pandemonium. He took in the sight of all the cave. It was basically a shantytown, with wooden planks and large blocks of stone serving as homes. As He-Man followed Teela and the others, people poured out of their loose homes and stared at him.

"He-Man!"

"He's back!"

"Thank the Ancients!"

"Better make a speech," Clamp Champ suggested.

"PEOPLE OF ETERNOS! I HAVE RETURNED!" he shouted.

There was a great shout of joy and exhalation from the people.

"As we speak, I am working on a plan to free all of Eternia! Whatever hope you have held onto, I ask that you hold to do just a little longer! I shall bring us all victory and freedom from the Horde!"

Thunderous clapping and yelling followed. He-Man smiled and walked along as people continue to yell out his name. For a moment, as he walked towards a 'house' that Teela mentioned was the 'command center,' He-Man thought he saw very familiar face. Any pursuit of this, however, was shattered by the cry of a three-year-old brown haired boy that went out as he sprinted in front of He-Man.

"Momma! Momma!" the boy shouted.

He-Man watched as the young child ran through the group . . . and into the arms of Teela. She hugged the kid and smiled warmly at him.

"Hello Addison. Did you miss Mommy?"

He-Man's jaw dropped. "What . . .?"

"This is my son, He-Man," Teela told him as she hugged the child named Addison.

"Your . . . son?"

She gave him a half-hearted smile. "Surprise."


	5. Plans

Chapter Four: "Plans"

"Son," said He-Man. "You have . . . a son?"

"He has a name, He-Man," said Teela. "Addison."

"I . . . who's the . . ."

Teela looked around at the crowd as she picked up her son. "I think we should discuss this later, don't you? At least somewhere much more private."

"Um . . . yeah. Right."

The gang walked through the thick crowd and into a small structure at the end of the large cavern. It was tiny, but had a few break-off rooms. Perhaps the most surprising of it all is that it had a door into another, much smaller cave where maps and whatnot stood.

Teela held Addison's hand as they all entered the small cave. "Alright, He-Man. What should we do next?"

"I'm not sure," he stated flatly, his eyes barely looking over the maps. He couldn't help but stare at Addison. "I . . . I'm just not sure."

"Well, as soon as you get something together, let me know. I'm going to go keep watch some more," said Lubic stepping out of the structure and into the larger cave.

"I need a few minutes," He-Man said.

"Okay. If it's alright with you, I'll be out playing with Addison," Teela told He-Man.

He felt a slight sting at those words, but continued to look over the maps and documents. As he did, he couldn't help but feel left out on a rope. He wanted answers, though Teela seemed too reluctant to give them. He-Man frowned and looked towards the maps more.

"Hard to believe, huh?" asked Mekaneck, leaning against the table.

"Yeah," He-Man answered. "I think we should probably concentrate on business for now."

"Gotcha."

He-Man sighed and looked over a map. "I was thinking that we make our back over to the Light Hemisphere and into the Starship Eternia. We go to Etheria with some of these Royal Soldiers you have here. We meet up with Glimmer, Bow, Adora, Mermista, and Castaspella. From there, we see what they know about Doom Tower. Like I said, Hordak has to have some way of getting his forces from there to here and vice versa. Once we get into Doom Tower, we split into teams. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"What are we going to do with everyone once we get them back here?" asked Stratos. "I don't think bringing them here would be a good idea."

"Castle Grayskull," He-Man responded. "We bring them to Castle Grayskull and set-up camp there."

"Sounds like a good idea," Clamp Champ then said.

The rest of the day was filled with He-Man meeting and greeting with the people of Eternos that had been living in the cave. He knew a number of the people there, including the brother Chad and Jahno, and their grandfather Lyle. Years earlier, Jahno had been nominated Boy of the Year and had trouble with Count Marzo. Also among the group was Lous, a blind boy He-Man had also known years ago. Mekaneck's son Philip was among those living there. There was also Gaelan, who used to the work at the Temple of Gryphon near Eternos.

Being around such familiar faces eased He-Man, but it didn't take his mind off of Teela and Addison. And really, it all just served as a reminder as to all that changed on Eternia in the past five years.

As the afternoon rolled on, He-Man went to speak to Teela.

"I think we may need to go back to Castle Grayskull," he told her. "The Sorceress has more sophisticated systems that can help us pinpoint Skydancer Mountain. Plus, I'll be closer to the Starship Eternia and we can pretty much leave from there."

She nodded. "Okay. I think I'd like to go with you."

"Teela, I'm not sure . . ."

"I want to see Adam. And I'd like Addison to go with us," she responded.

"Is that really the best idea?'

"He's my son and I'm tired of leaving him behind. Plus, I want Adam to meet him."

He-Man ran his fingers through his hair with frustration. Teela stood stubbornly in front of him, Addison behind her.

"Okay, but what about when we leave and attack Doom Tower?"

"I upheld the Sorceress request to leave Castle Grayskull alone. The least she can do is watch over my son for a few hours."

He-Man grunted, but then slowly nodded. Fighting with her wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Okay. Okay."

She smirked a little. "All right. I'll get in touch Gwildor and have him use the Cosmic Key to bring us to wherever he wants us, then he can teleport us to Castle Grayskull."

"Sounds like a plan then."

A few hours later, the remainder of the Heroic Warriors and a dozen (of thirty) Royal Soldiers gathered together at the entrance to the cavern. He-Man turned to Lubic.

"If you need anything, contact us," He-Man stated.

"What if things go badly for you?" asked Lubic.

"They won't."

"You say that like you can see the future. You also didn't see things going badly when you left," Lubic argued.

He-Man knew he had a point, but shook his head. "Different times, Lubic. We will be successful."

Just then, the portal opened. He-Man led the way, followed by Clamp Champ, Stratos, Mekaneck, Teela, Addison, and the Royal Soldiers.

One turnabout trip later, the entire group appeared in the throne room of Castle Grayskull. He-Man had contacted her shortly after the decision was made to come.

"I have prepared rooms in the northwestern tower," the Sorceress said. "All other doors will be locked and I ask that you do not leave the tower. Rest and relax and prepare for tomorrow."

Gwildor, Mekaneck, Stratos, and Clamp Champ led the soldiers up the stairs and to the corridor that would take them into the northwestern tower.

"Teela, I have prepared a room for you in the southwestern tower," the Sorceress said. She then leaned in towards the boy that was secretly her grandson. "And hello little one."

"Mommy . . . why does the lady have a bird head?"

"Addison! That's the Sorceress."

"Oh."

The Sorceress laughed lightly. "I will take you to your room."

"Where's Adam?"

"Oh, he's around," the Sorceress replied, giving He-Man a sideways look.

"Good night, Teela," He-Man said to her. "Good night, Addison."

"Good night Mr. Man!"

He-Man smiled and watched as the trio walked up a staircase and into a doorway. His smile faded and he walked into a small alcove. "Let the power return!"

There was a flash of light and energy and He-Man became Prince Adam again. _Here we go, _he thought as he walked towards Teela's room.

He knocked on the door. "Adam!" she said after opening it.

"Hi Teela!"

Teela dashed over and kissed him slightly on the lips. After a strange pause, she grinned at him. There was something strangely familiar about that.

"Is that your son?" asked Adam with a smile.

"Yeah. Addison. Who told you . . . ?"

"He-Man."

"Oh. Yeah. Come on. Let's talk."

The two of them walked out of the room and onto a balcony. There were no troops positioned below them, so it was somewhat peaceful. They sat down on a bench and looked out across the sea of trees and fields.

"It's so nice out here," said Teela. The moon was high with the stars. It was autumn and the air was a bit on the chilly side, but it was still very beautiful.

"Yeah," responded Adam. He looked over to his old friend. "Teela. Your son . . . if you don't mind . . ."

"You want to know who the father is?" she asked for him. Her eyes turned away from the fields and looked to him. "It's complicated. It was . . . well, nothing I intended to have happen. Not long after Eternos fell, we came upon a unit from West Eternos. His name was John and he was a Commander. About my age now, I guess."

She turned back to the fields and the stars now. "We became close friends quickly. It felt good, despite the chaos around us, to be close with someone. Unfortunately, during a night of drunkenness and sorrow, he and I . . . well . . ."

"Yeah," Adam said.

"Yeah." She bit her lip and closed her eyes. "He died the next day. John never saw his son. Didn't even know he existed. He saved my life and that of Addison's, but . . . yeah. That's how it happened."

"Oh Teela . . ." he said with a strong sense of remorse. He put his hand on hers.

"What about Duncan?"

"I was away when Eternos was hit. On my way here, actually. The Sorceress hadn't been out at all since you two left. But I wasn't mad at her. I think I understand stronger than anyone does. I'm not even sure how. But we didn't even make it here when we learned about Eternos' fall. A week later, I found out I was pregnant."

"Tough times, huh?"

"No kidding," she said. Teela looked very sad - almost to the point of crying. "We were . . . no . . . I was very lonely . . ."

"Hey," he offered. He brushed a stray hair out of her face. She put her small hand in his once again and turned to face him. Adam looked into her eyes. "I'm here now, Teela."

She paused and looked right at him. There was something far too similar here. But she didn't want to process all of it right now.

Teela just kissed his cheek and sat up.

"I know you probably have a lot of stories."

"Not really," Adam said. "He-Man probably told you most of them."

"Yeah, but he very rarely mentioned you."

"Oh?" asked Adam. "Well, I guess I'll just have to talk to him in the morning before . . ."

"Before what?" she asked.

"Before I, er, head to the cavern to help out."

"Oh. I see."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause before Teela stood up and headed back to the door. "Adam, if I don't see you in the morning, then I wish you the best of luck."

He smiled at her in a way he hadn't in long time. "Thank you. The same to you . . . and, er, He-Man."

"Good night," she said, giving him a peck on the lips. She then smiled "And welcome home!"


	6. Reunion on Etheria

Chapter Five: "Reunion on Etheria"

* * *

He-Man, Teela, Clamp Champ, Stratos, Mekaneck, Gwildor, and a dozen Royal Soldiers arrived at the beach at 11 Bells in the Morning, just before the noon hour. He-Man pressed down on his communicator.

"Gleep, U-R? This is He-Man. Open the gangplank."

As if from nowhere, the gangplank suddenly appeared on the beach, leading up into a door in the open air.

"Weird," Mekaneck observed.  
"My home away from home for the past seven weeks," He-Man replied. "Come on in."

The group entered. He-Man stopped by the door to his quarters and locked it, making sure no one accidentally stumbled into it and saw everything that was within. They all walked to the bridge, where Gleep and U-R were standing by. Clobber was sitting at He-Man's chair.

"Nice bird," Teela remarked.

"Thanks. Gleep, U-R? These are the Heroic Warriors. Guys, this is Gleep and U-R."

"Pleasure."

"Beep!"  
He-Man shrugged. "Everyone have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable. There's some of Primus' best produce is in the cargo bay just down one level. We'll be taking off shortly."

"We have charted a course for Etheria, He-Man, based on previous data. What are the coordinates you wish us to travel to?" asked Gleep.

He-Man imputed them into the navigational computer. He then turned to U-R. "Keep the cloak up and maintain a full sensor scan. Keep an eye out for that vessel."

He-Man was sure it was Horde ship, though part of him doubted. Whatever the case may be, it was not a high priority right now. Getting to Etheria was.

The Starship Eternia invisibly reared up from the beach and blasted up into the sky, heading fast and strong out from the atmosphere. Clouds zoomed by as the ship picked up speed and soon, blue sky was replaced by star-studded darkness.

"Estimated time to coordinates: three hours, 14 minutes," Gleep reported.

"Acknowledged," He-Man responded and leaned back in his chair.

* * *

Shadow Weaver crept along the darkened stairwell of the Central Tower, worry and concern on her mind. What she had been sensing for the past few days had only grown more and more strong, encouraging her now to seek out Hordak.

"Lord Hordak," she addressed the ruler of Eternia as he sat in what was once the Hall of the Heroic Warriors.

"What is it, Weaver?" questioned Hordak from his throne. He wore long, dark blue and black robes. In a holster on his belt was the Sword of Deception. His red eyes studied Shadow Weaver as she bowed just a little upon approaching him.

"My magics have been detecting a force of power here on Eternia. I have been sensing it for the past few days, but it has only grown stronger."

Hordak snorted loudly. "Any idea as to what this is?" he asked.

"Not yet, oh mighty one," she replied, bowing again. "It is . . . difficult to see. I can only sense that it may be a threat to your empire."

"Perhaps," he responded. "I will have all Horde Troopers on alert and have the Horde Elite ready. In the meantime, work on finding whatever this potential threat may be."

"Yes, master."

* * *

He-Man stood up and watched as the flames of the atmosphere veered away from the Starship Eternia. Teela joined him as they looked through the front window of the ship and saw what exactly had happened to Etheria. The entire world looked to be a see black tar and oil, unmoving. Gray fog sometimes lingered above the ugly dark mass that was this planet.

As the Starship Eternia pressed ever onward across the surface of the planet, they entered a particularly dense area of this fog. After a few minutes and the slowing the ship down, the fog was broken by the sight shining sight of the Crystal Castle sitting atop the untouched Skydancer Mountain.

"There is it!" He-Man shouted. "Gleep, slow us down and bring us around."

The Starship Eternia slowed and did a quick swing around the Crystal Castle. As it did, the ship uncloaked and landed in a flat, open area next to the Crystal Castle.

"They've been hiding here for the better part of three years," He-Man advised his people. "They're going to be cautious."

The gangplank opened and He-Man stepped out. As soon as he did, a barrage of magic beams, water, and arrows came flying at him. He leapt out of the way of the arrows, dodged the magic, and ducked beneath the water.

"DON'T FIRE!" shouted Teela from the entrance of the gangplank.

From the door of the Crystal Castle poured out Bow, Glimmer, Mermista, Flutterina, Castaspella, and Adora.

"He-Man?!" yelled out Adora.

"Yes, Adora, it's me. And I've brought friends."

Teela, Stratos, Clamp Champ, Gwildor, and Mekaneck all came out of the Starship Eternia.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" exclaimed Bow, lowering his weapon. He looked quite the same, save older and now with a full beard along with the eye patch. They all looked quite the same, only older and little weary.

"You came back," said Adora, walking up to He-Man.

"I did indeed."

"What do you know?" she then asked. "And what's happened on Eternia?"

"Hordak has successfully conquered Eternos and many of the other kingdoms of Man," Mekaneck answered.

"Gwildor and Man-At-Arms managed to get your parents to Earth for safekeeping," Teela then said. "Although, the Cosmic Key is having trouble getting a fix on Earth."

"Too many energy fields, I fear," Gwildor added. "Makes it hard to get a lock on anything."

"Hordak's doing, I'm certain," Castaspella said, then waved her arm at the oil-like landscape. "As is this."

"What happened here?" asked Stratos.

"Come on inside and we'll explain everything."

The entire group, the reunited Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion, entered the Crystal Castle.

"Hordak somehow managed to get his hands on a weapon called the Sword of Deception," Adora filled them in. "He-Man, it was one of the blades of Grayskull."

"Yes, the Sorceress told me of it."

"Well, however he had came across it, he used to join his life-force with the sword itself. He then channeled power through Peek-A-Blue, creating this . . . well, this oil. It quickly spread out across the entire planet," Adora continued. "Kingdoms, rivers, oceans . . . all fell. We took refuge in the Whispering Woods, but even that crumbled in due time. Everything and everyone is in a state of suspended animation in this oil, waiting for Hordak to absorb their life-force."

"Why hasn't he done it yet?" asked He-Man.

"Because he is not capable yet. Another year or two, he would be. Looks like you came back right in the nick of time," Adora answered.

"Looks like," He-Man responded. "What do you know of Doom Tower?"

"Other than that we can't get to it?" asked Bow. "Everything."

"Casta and I have been able to use our magic to get a complete map of it. Unfortunately, it has in place devices that protect it from both portals and teleporting," Glimmer explained.

"Can you get a map of it out for us?" asked He-Man.

"Of course."

He-Man then turned to Teela and the others. "Take a look at it, will you? I need to speak with Adora alone."

Teela nodded. Adora and He-Man then left the room and went into Adora's bedchamber. As soon as they entered, He-Man gripped his Sword of Power and said "Let the power return," becoming Prince Adam once more. Adora smiled, happy to see her twin.

"Hello Adam."

The two hugged.

"Hey sis."

"How was Primus?"

Adam shrugged. "It was good. We won."

"And Skeletor?"

"I blasted him into the depths of space. He's in exile now."

Adora nodded. "I see."

"I need to talk to you about Skeletor, actually. Do you remember a few years ago when everyone was looking Keldor and they recaptured Skeletor from the Horde? And how we toyed with the possibility that Keldor and Skeletor are the same person?"

"Yes."

"It's true. They are one and the same."

Adora sighed and shook her head. "Another set of questions for mother and father when we get them back."

"And Uncle Stephan and Aunt Johanna."

"Yeah, them too."

Adora turned away. "I lost the Sword of Protection. It's in Doom Tower, I'm certain. But I haven't been able to transform into She-Ra since . . ."

"We'll get it back. And free the Heroic Warriors."

Adora smirked. "You have a plan?"

"I have a plan." Adam then pulled out the Sword of Power once more. "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" he shouted, once more happy to have replaced 'Eternia' with 'Grayskull.' "I HAVE THE POWER!"

* * *

Shortly, the Starship Eternia was back in the air, thrusters flaring. He-Man prepared himself as he always had, focusing on what needed to be done, keeping his mind on the battle ahead. The map had been more than helpful. It had pointed out all the weapon stations, the communications tower, and even the location of the generator room, armory, and the prisons. Upon further inspection, it was even found that it was Doom Tower itself that prevented the opening of a portal with the Cosmic Key.

"Take us in, Gleep," He-Man ordered.

The Starship Eternia was still under cloak as it vectored towards the dark tower on the horizon.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Bow commented. "To think . . . when I woke up this morning, I thought it was just going to be another boring day."

Clamp Champ smiled. "Times, they are a changin'."

"Everyone, get ready," He-Man advised. "Remember the plan and stick to it. Three teams. Adora and I will free the Heroic Warriors. Teela, Clamp Champ, Gwildor, and Castaspella will handle the Royal Soldiers. Bow, Glimmer, Mekaneck, and Mermista will head to the generators. The rest of you will guard the Starship Eternia."

Nods came from the group. He-Man took in a deep breath and turned to the front window. "U-R. Prepare to drop the cloak, raise shields, and fire on my command."

"Acknowledged."

Doom Tower stood tall above the dark tar-like sea. It reached high into the red sky, like a horrible tree of twisted metal. A huge turret hung from the side, which was the communications tower.

"Ready . . . and de-cloak. Raise shields. Lock weapons and fire!"

The Starship Eternia appeared the naked eye and the sensors within Doom Tower. It zoomed forward before those within had a chance to respond. Missiles came flying from the Primian ship. They flared across the barren, black landscape and struck with intensity against the powering up laser cannons of Doom Tower.

Explosions roared out into the silence of Etheria. The first since the world went dark.

"We got lucky on that one," He-Man said.

"They are returning fire!" U-R announced.

"Gleep, do your best," He-Man ordered.

Laser beams fired out from weapons stations on Doom Tower. The shields of the Starship Eternia sizzled and materialized at the impact, but the damage was minimum.

"Fire second round, aim for the communications tower," He-Man commanded.

A second battalion of missiles was launched. They struck the communications tower, completely demolishing it. Huge scraps of shattered technology went flying into the darkness below. The Starship Eternia then swung around Doom Tower, exchanging fire with the structure as it did so.

"Take us to the roof," He-Man said.

The ship swung up and appeared above the roof of Doom Tower. Below, the flat area was filling with Horde Troopers.

"We need to clear them out before we can make a landing," Mekaneck said.

He-Man smiled. He picked up his Sword of Power, the Shield of the Galactic Guardians, and the Battle-Axe of the Heroic Warriors. "Open the gangway. I'll take care of them."

A moment later, the gangplank opened. Horde Troopers, now nearly 100 in all, stood ready. He-Man dropped from the Starship Eternia as it hovered in place. He-Man landed and smashed two immediately.

"Identify yourself!" shouted one of the Horde Troopers.

"Don't you know me?" He-Man asked without missing a beat. He slid his Sword of Power into the questioning Horde Trooper. He then lopped off the head of another one. "I'm He-Man." He kicked one into another. "I'm the one that's going to tear you all apart."

Since his return to Eternia and learning what had happened to his friends and family, He-Man had been doing his best to restrain his feelings of rage and anger. But now . . . he had the perfect outlet. He struck fast and furiously, slashing, hacking, punching, kicking, slamming, throwing, and just plain outright destroying the offending Horde Troopers.

Teela, Stratos, Adora, and the others watched on with shocked expressions. They had never seen He-Man like this. He fighting skills had improved in terms of both speed and skill since his departure over five years ago.

"I've never seen him like this before," Teela muttered.

"I think we forget, Teela, that He-Man fought a war as well," Stratos replied.

Within minutes, the Horde Troopers were all slag. He-Man stood in their place and stepped back as the Starship Eternia landed. The Royal Soldiers came out and positioned themselves with gangplank.

"Be ready for anything," He-Man advised.

The others soon joined him. They then rushed into the roof doors of Doom Tower, setting into motion the freedom of the Heroic Warriors.


	7. Rescue Mission

Chapter Six: "Rescue Mission"

* * *

He-Man and Adora, separated now from the others, arrived in the 'Special Celled Prison' of the dungeons. Alarms were blaring as they rushed down the corridor. He-Man had almost missed one of the cells, save for a call from Adora.

"HE-MAN!" shouted Adora.

He-Man spun around. A pair of Horde Troopers suddenly appeared. He-Man took them out, then joined Adora. A huge door stood before them, labeled simply 'PETS.' He-Man looked to Adora, their blue eyes acknowledging each others fears.

Within seconds, the door was torn from its hinges.

"HE-MAN!"

"ADORA!"

Inside were a number of stalls, two of them occupied. Cringer sat in one and Spirit in the other, both chained to the wall. He-Man smiled joyously and pulled out the Sword of Power. A beam of pure energy fired out at the eagerly awaiting Cringer.

There was blast of power. Cringer became the mighty Battle-Cat and released a roared so unlike any he had before. He-Man leapt over to him and hugged him by the neck. Battle-Cat licked He-Man's face.

"It's been too long," He-Man said to his most dearest of companions.

"I'm so glad to see you again," Battle-Cat told him.

Adora grabbed He-Man's Battle-Axe and smashed Spirit's chains. She too hugged Spirit. "Oh, Spirit," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"I've waited so long to see you again, Adora," Spirit replied, looking skinny and thin.

"Orko," Battle-Cat indicated, pointing at a bottle on a small shelf.

He-Man nodded and lifted the Sword of Power. A lighting beam came flying out and struck the bottle. The bottle shook and exploded in a series of huge fireworks. Orko came spinning swirling out. He grabbed hold of a nearby post to stabilize himself. He then rubbed his eyes.

"Wha-what was that?" he asked. He then blinked and saw He-Man. "HE-MAN!"

As He-Man knew he would, Orko came flying over and hugged He-Man. He-Man patted Orko on the head.

"You're back!" Orko shouted.

"Yep. And now, I need your help in freeing the others."

Adora turned to her brother. "Spirit and I are going to find the Sword of Protection."

He-Man nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. "Be careful. I don't want to have found you . . . only to lose you again."

Adora smiled and slapped He-Man on the arm. "Aw, come on, have a little faith in me."

He-Man, Battle-Cat, and Orko emerged from the cell and faced down some Horde Troopers. He-Man took them down simple enough. Adora and Spirit went the opposite way, as there was a part of her that could sense the location of the Sword of Protection.

* * *

All of the living soldiers of Eternia were kept in one huge prison area, awaiting the time when their homeworld would be overrun with Hordak's power. A long and pitiful wait.

Even the Heroic Warriors were forced to sit and watch.

Sadder still was the fate of Man-At-Arms. He was kept in a small cage above a long corridor that led to the dining hall from the cells. Kept alive, he was there only as a symbol that their hope was gone. A torture - Duncan was the finest of all the warriors, second only to He-Man himself. To see him up there, useless, it was heart breaking.

But every day, the prisoners had no choice in the matter. None at all. And every day, Man-At-Arms would watch them walk in procession. He tried to grin, but some of his teeth were missing by this point. The beatings he received were hard on the ever-growing-old warrior.

* * *

Sy-Klone sat in a cell next to Extendar. "A lot of commotion going on, don't you think?" asked the once warrior of the winds. "Another drill, do you think?"

Extendar laughed bitterly. "You kidding? They haven't had a need for one in over a year."

Sy-Klone shrugged, his arms locked up in chains to prevent him from spinning at all. "Yeah. No kidding. I wonder what's up."

At that moment, the door to their cells smashed apart. He-Man came jumping through the slag and faced both friends.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," He-Man greeted.

"Well I'll be!" shouted Sy-Klone. "If it ain't He-Man himself!"

He-Man ran forth and slashed open the cell doors. He ran into Extendar's first and snapped his shackles.

"I knew you'd show up soon enough!" greeted height-changing hero.

"Thanks," He-Man replied. He then let Sy-Klone out and broke his shackles.

"Hey old buddy. Thanks a lot, He-Man."

"No problem."

"Who else is with you?" asked Extendar as they emerged from the cell room.

"Teela, Stratos, Mekaneck, Gwildor and a couple others," He-Man replied.

"They told us Teela was dead," Sy-Klone said. When a dozen Horde Troopers suddenly came marching down the corridor, he unleashed a mighty wind that smashed them all to bits. "Along with everyone else."

"They lied," He-Man said, smashing a few more that were in coming from the other end.

"Hey guys!" Orko greeted.

"Heh. I'm actually happy to see Orko," Extendar said, sending a fist into another Horde Trooper. "Ohhh! That feels good!"

He-Man smiled. "We're not out of the woods yet."

The group headed down a flight of stairs, knocking and punching every Horde Troopers they saw. Then, they followed He-Man down through another corridor. At the end of the corridor was a pair of doors.

"You guys take the left, I'll handle the right," He-Man ordered.

He-Man smashed the door open and revealed none other than Moss Man. But what He-Man saw made him gasp. Moss Man was suspended in a tube of milky water, his body looking almost dissolved. Huge amounts of algae hung on the sides of the tube, connected to Moss Man's faded body by thick strings of seaweed.

"Oh Ancients," He-Man whispered.

He-Man was sure what to do. Would smashing it be the right thing? He had never been good at botany and was no expect on the full extent of Moss Man's anatomy, but he could only assume that what had been done to Moss Man was slowly killing him . . . over-watering him.

As He-Man walked forward, Moss Man's yellow eyes snapped open. He-Man smiled and made a punching motion at the tube. Moss Man slowly nodded. He-Man slammed his fist against the glass. The tube exploded and the water poured out. Moss Man's body came slumping out, the seaweed and algae pulling towards him.

Water poured out from Moss Man's mouth and nose and he coughed.

"Ancients . . . He-Man . . ." Moss Man breathed.

"Just take it easy, old friend, we'll get you to fresh, fertile dirt soon enough."

At that moment, Sy-Klone and Extendar pushed arrived with Rio-Blast and Snout Spout in tow.

"Sy-Klone, can you dry him out?"

Sy-Klone nodded and held his hands above Moss Man. Air began to spin around plant-powered hero, doing the best quick dry he could.

"Can you move?" asked He-Man.

Moss Man nodded and Rio-Blast helped him up. "Good to see ya again, He-Man," Rio-Blast said.

"You too. Both of you."

Laser blasts suddenly filled the room. He-Man dropped to the ground, then jumped up and destroyed two in-coming Horde Troopers. The other Heroic Warriors, save Rio-Blast and Moss Man, moved towards the ten other Horde Troopers, taking them out quite easily.

"I can't tell you how good that feels," Snout Spout said, taking in some of Moss Man's water and unleashing it at three Horde Troopers.

He-Man handed Rio-Blast a laser, as his weapons were all removed. "Take this, Rio-Blast, and keep Moss Man safe. Stay close."

* * *

The doors to the prison came flying open. Teela arrived on the spot, followed by Castaspella, Gwildor, and Clamp Champ. As soon as they did, Horde Troopers arrived on the spot, firing laser blasts at the group.

"I'll take care of this," Castaspella said, raising a force field around them.

Gwildor turned to a nearby computer and went to work hacking into the system. "How long?" demanded Teela.

"Just another minute or two," Gwildor replied, fingers pressing buttons on both the unit on the wall and one in his hand.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up," Castaspella said then, the force field shimmering.

Teela pressed her communicator. "Team One, this is Team Two. Report?"

"I've just freed Buzz-Off and Pelicor," He-Man replied. "What's your status?"

"We've almost got the cell doors opened," Teela answered. "I'll report back to you when we reach the armory."

"Understood. He-Man out."

At just that moment, the doors of the prison cells came flying open. Royal Soldiers came walking out, wondering just what was happening.

"Castaspella, I need to address my soldiers," Teela said to her. She nodded and Teela felt a breeze flow around her mouth. She belted out to the entire prison area, all five hundred cells.

"ROYAL SOLDIERS, THIS IS CAPTAIN TEELA! ATTACK! ATTACK! YOU ARE FREE!"

All at once, the unarmored Royal Soldiers felt liberation flare through them. Before the Horde Troopers had time to compensate, the Royal Soldiers were upon them. Lasers were lifted up from the first fallen Horde Troopers. Triggers were pulled and the entire area filled with the heat of laser beams.

Quickly, Teela, Gwildor, Clamp Champ, and Castaspella joined in the fray. Horde Troopers were torn apart left and right as the Royal Soldiers pulled themselves together and rose up against the oppressors that had held them down for years.

"TO THE ARMORY!" shouted Teela.

As the rebelling group of former prisoners roared onward through the chambers of Doom Tower, Teela caught hold of her old Lieutenants, a woman named Andras.

"TEELA!" shouted Andras, throwing her arms around Teela. Teela smiled and hugged back.

"Andras! Good to see you're still alive!"

"Same here! They said you were dead!"

Teela shook her head. "Horde lies. Where's my father?"

Andras pointed down a corridor that led to the dining area. "Down there. In a cage."

"Okay." Teela jerked head towards the rest of the group. "Follow them to the Armory. Once you get there, hunker down until Gwildor is able to teleport you all to Castle Grayskull. Once you get there, there will be a small Horde outpost. Should be no problem once you all armor up. Also . . . tell all that you can that He-Man is back and is freeing the Heroic Warriors. Let hope spread throughout them."

Andras smiled broadly and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

* * *

He-Man closed the comm-link and entered yet another room. He smiled when he saw the grin on Ram Man's face. The large Eternian was chained to the floor.

"About damn time you showed up!" he shouted.

"Hello to you too, Ram Man," He-Man replied, snapping the chains that bound him to the ground.

Ram Man grabbed his helmet. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"Not really. Stick with me, huh? I need your help."

"No problem, old buddy."

The pair ran out of the room and were then suddenly confronted by a dozen Horde Troops.

"Halt!" they shouted in robotic unison. He-Man was about to act, but Ram-Man put his hand up.

"I've been waiting a long time for this!" he shouted. He bounced forth and smashed them all to bits.

"Nice job!"

"HA HA! Just like old times!"

At that moment, the rest of the group joined them, now added with Rotar and Man-E-Faces. All-in-all, it was Man-E-Faces, Buzz-Off, Ram-Man, Moss Man, Rio-Blast, Extendar, Snout Spout, Rotar, Pelicor, Sy-Klone, Orko, and Battle-Cat.

"Who's left?" asked He-Man, as Ram-Man and Man-E-Faces took down Fisto's door. Buzz-Off and Pelicor went to extract him. "Where's Rokkon and Stonedar?"

"They were teleported back into deep space," answered Man-E-Faces. "Same with the Meteorbs."

"Are you sure?" He-Man questioned.

"Absolutely. I was the last one captured out of this group, as far as I know. I was there when they were teleported away."

He-Man grimed a little. "Okay. We'll worry about that later. Fisto . . ."

"Good to see you again, He-Man," Fisto greeted, emerging with Buzz-Off and Pelicor.

"What about Roboto?"

"Team One, this is Team Two," came the voice of Clamp Champ. "We have the prisoners freed and have made it successfully to the Armory. Gwildor has been able to deactivate the teleportational block. He's standing by to open a portal to Eternia."

"Wait for Team Three's signal."

"Understood," Clamp Champ responded. "Teela has gone after Man-At-Arms. Also, I've located not only Rio-Blast's weapons, but also Roboto. He's been dismantled, but all of his pieces look like they're here."

"Gather him up, then. Be careful."

"I've also found the Heroic Warriors' armor here," Clamp Champ said then.

"Grab that too."

"On it. I'll see you soon. Team Two out."

He-Man turned to the Heroic Warriors. Despite them looking worse for wear, it was damn good to see them all again.

"We've got a ship waiting. I know you're weak and tired, but it's going to be up-hill from here."

Rio-Blast scoffed. "Do you really think we're not up for this?"

And with that, the Heroic Warriors went rushing down the corridors that were now filling with Horde Troopers.

* * *

Duncan was well aware of the alarms, but didn't pay them much attention until he heard the shouting and roaring of the prisoners and the sound of riot. This roused his attention, though he could not join his brethren. After his first arrived here, the Horde broke his leg and did everything they could to make sure that it did not heal correctly. It was virtually unworkable.

The door to his cage suddenly opened. Duncan was confronted with his greatest of tormentors.

"It seems we've been taken by surprise," Vultak said, entering the cage. "The prisoners have been freed and are heading to the armory. The Horde Troopers are being ripped apart by the returned He-Man." Vultak smiled and laughed a little. "It seems they've picked the perfect day to do this. It's only me and Modulock running this place."

"If it's all falling apart around you, then why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm going to make sure that you don't see any of this!"

Vultak moved fast. His elbow slammed into Duncan's ribs. He then grabbed Duncan by the head and started smashing the back of his head into the bars of the cage. Duncan fell, but reached for a bowl. He moved to swing it into Vultak's face, but Vultak moved faster, smacking it out of Duncan's hand.

His wings swung up and pushed Duncan's hands against the bars, pinning them down. He then went to work. Vultak punched and kicked at the already battered Duncan, son of Stephan.

Vultak then pulled out a long knife and held it at Duncan's throat. "And now . . . embrace the oblivion!"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY FATHER, YOU BASTARD!"

Vultak was not quite sure what happened. But what he did know what a staff came around under his chin and pulled him right out of the cage. He fell to the ground with woman on his back.

Vultak was kicked in the lower back, but managed to free himself from the woman's grip. He then saw his attacker – Teela, the resistance leader.

"You are – "

"SHUT THE UP!" Teela roared, her boot connecting with his face. Teela moved faster than anyone he had ever seen. Vultak was down for the count in less than a minute.

Teela leapt up into the cage, where Duncan lay in a battered and beaten pulp. "Father . . . I'm here . . ."

Duncan looked up to his daughter and tried to smile. "Teela . . ."

She wrapped her arms around him, tears filling in her eyes. "Father."

"I'm so glad . . . I got to see you again . . . before the end . . ."

"What? Father?"

Duncan ran his gnarled hand across her hair. "I . . . you must leave me behind . . . my leg won't work . . ."

"Father! No!"

"I'll only slow you down . . . I can handle Vultak long enough . . ."

She grabbed him by the face and forced him to look into her teary green eyes. "Father, listen to me. You're coming with me. I'm not leaving you behind. He-Man is back. The Heroic Warriors are freed. Doom Tower is going to be obliterated. And . . . and I want my son to see his grandfather."

Duncan's eyes went wide with confusion. "Son?"

Teela pulled her father up. "Yeah. Come on. His name is Addison."

* * *

As the Heroic Warriors made the scramble to the Starship Eternia and the Royal Soldiers held off the Armory, the generator room was suddenly filled with a thick fog. As Horde Troopers rushed around, trying to figure out what was generating it, they neglected to notice Mekaneck and Bow entering.

"There!" pointed Mekaneck, his vision piercing the fog that Glimmer and Mermista had created.

Bow fired his arrows in the directions Mekaneck pointed out. The arrows slammed against the generators, all five of them armed with explosives.

"Twenty minutes, people," Mekaneck said into the comm-line. "This is Team Three to All Points. We're on the clock."

* * *

Modulock arrived at the command center, where Vultak soon joined him. "This whole operation has gone to pieces," Modulock snarled.

"I agree," Vultak replied, blood trickling from his nose. "Have you been able to contact Eternia?"

"No, you idiot! The communications tower was what they took out first!"

"Then I suppose we should make for the escape vessel," Vultak said then.

"Yes, I have prepared for that."

It was then that Vultak saw the sword in on of Modulock's lower hands. "What is that?"

"A powerful blade," Modulock replied. "I was ordered to take it with me if we had to evacuate."

At that moment, the doors to the command center slid open. Adora and Spirit came in and Adora's eyes met the Sword of Protection in Modulock's hand.

"Force Captain Adora!" said Modu.

"Princess Adora!" said Lock.

"And that's my sword," she said. "And I'll have it back . . . now."

Modulock stepped forward. "Vultak, power up the ship. I'll take care of this traitor."

Adora grimed. "Come and get me."

* * *

He-Man and the Heroic Warriors smashed through a huge line of Horde Troopers and finally met with the Royal Soldiers of Eternos at the Armory. As soon as they did, there was a cry of joy and a roar of victory.

"He-Man!" shouted Teela, who had only arrived moments earlier. "We need to get my father to the ship."

"Glad you're back, He-Man," said Duncan. "How was Primus?"

"Not bad," He-Man replied. "How was prison?"

"Terrible service, but great food."  
He-Man smiled and felt his mentor's brow. "He's feverish."

"WE'VE GOT TO MOVE IT, PEOPLE!" shouted Mekaneck, arriving with Glimmer, Bow, and Mermista.

"Right. Gwildor!" He-Man shouted.

Gwildor nodded and activated the Cosmic Key. A massive blue framed and white portal appeared in front of the Royal Soldiers. They rushed through, each one wearing the armor they had been stripped of and carrying firearms. After a few minutes, they entire army was through, appearing before Castle Grayskull back on Eternia.

"All right!" shouted He-Man to the others, wearing up on Battle-Cat. "LET'S GO!"

The Heroic Warriors tore forward, running up the long corridors and up the stairs. Soon, they all arrived at the roof, tearing through the Horde Troopers that were giving those in the Starship Eternia trouble.

"STRATOS!" shouted Ram-Man.

"Good evening, my friends," Stratos greeted. "Come on aboard."

The Heroic Warriors piled into the gangway. Glimmer turned to He-Man as the last members of the now reunited Heroic Warriors assembled.

"Where's Adora?"

He-Man turned and at that moment, a portion of the roof exploded. The Heroic Warriors looked out the various windows as Adora and Spirit were tossed onto the roof, with Modulock jumping right up in front of them.

"You okay?" asked Adora.

"Fine!" Spirit replied, standing up.

"Good. I've had enough of this!"

Adora jumped at Modulock, leapt off one arm, kicked another, and knocked the Sword of Protection out of his grasp. It landed in her hand. He-Man smiled . . . but the smile vanished when he saw his sister hold it above her head.

"What is she doing?" asked Bow.

"ADORA!" shouted He-Man, but it was too late.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!" Adora shouted. Power flowed around her from out of the Sword of Protection.

"What on Etheria?!" shouted Glimmer.

"I can't believe it!" Mermista yelled.

Castaspella's jaw dropped. "Adora and She-Ra are . . . one and the same!?"

"I AM SHE-RA!" She-Ra then called out, now replacing Adora. She turned the Sword of Protection to Spirit and the horse was transformed into the majestic Swift-Wind. She-Ra leapt onto his back and Swift-Wind reared up against Modulock, who was as well in pure shock.

As they were about to attack, however, all of Doom Tower was rocked by a massive explosion. The explosives placed on the arrows went off, destroying the generators, thereby issuing forth even more explosions.

Modulock disappeared in a teleportational beam as Horde ship passed over. She-Ra and Swift-Wind then turned and entered the Starship Eternia.

"Is that everyone?" asked He-Man as the gangway closed up.

"I am ready no more living entities in the structure," reported U-R.

"Then get us the hell out of here!" He-Man commanded.

The thrusters went off at just the last minute. The Starship Eternia roared away into the barren, dark landscape of Etheria. Behind and below, Doom Tower exploded and collapsed. As it did, the oil slimed forward and took all that was once Hordak's palace and the Heroic Warriors prison. As the oil claimed the last bit of land, it was as if nothing stood there at all.


	8. United

Chapter Seven: "United"

* * *

"We've taken out the outpost and taken it as our own, He-Man," Andras reported from Eternia. "Castle Grayskull is secure. How much longer will you be?"

He-Man glanced at the clock on the wall, then over at She-Ra, who sat on top of a crate. "Another hour. Just maintain a perimeter and take down any Horde Trooper that comes your way. If we're lucky, we'll beat them all there."

"Understood. Eternia out."

He-Man turned back to She-Ra. "So . . ."

"So." She sighed. "I . . . I don't know what got into me . . ."

"I was wondering that myself. Everybody knows. It'll just be a matter of time before they find out my secret."

She-Ra sighed. "And I am sorry for that. But, it's just . . ."

"What is it?" asked He-Man.

"I spent all that time as Adora, you know? All I wanted to do was change into She-Ra and fight it out! So, when the moment came, I suddenly didn't care who knew what or who was watching. I just wanted to be strong again."

She-Ra went quiet. "I had nightmares," she said then, rubbing her arms. "Nightmares that Hordak would come to the Crystal Castle and kill us all. All except me, that is. I would then take my sword and try to change into She-Ra, but I wouldn't be able to. I just couldn't for some reason."

"I . . . can understand that, I guess." There was a silence then, between them. "What about the Great Rebellion?" He-Man said at last.

"Once you leave, I'll tell them that you – as He-Man – came and gave me the Sword of Protection. I'll do my best from there and make sure that you and Adam don't get tied together." She-Ra then paused. "He-Man . . . I don't think this was a mistake."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. I'm not. I'm serious. The days when we could safely assume that our secret identities are keeping everyone around us safe is over. Skeletor knows your secret. Shouldn't it be time to reveal yourself to them?"

He-Man didn't answer, and She-Ra didn't really expect him to. Instead, she simply grabbed hold of the Sword of Protection. It felt good to hold it again.

"I think that's all we have to talk about right now," she said at length.

"I guess so," he answered.

The doors slid open and Bow, Glimmer, Castaspella, Flutterina, and Mermista were all waiting for them.

"Go on in."

The group entered . . . and the doors shut.

As She-Ra told them her story, He-Man took in some private time. The Starship Eternia was still cloaked as it neared Eternia. Gwildor, after installing Rio-Blast's weapons, was at work on Roboto, who was easily reactivated than Gwildor had predicted. Everyone else was either catching up or taking it easy.

He-Man avoided Teela.

Within the hour, the Starship Eternia landed by Castle Grayskull, near the various camps the 1,000 Royal Soldiers were making their temporary home.

"Have the Heroic Warriors and Great Rebellion take some rest in Castle Grayskull," He-Man commanded. "Fisto, take Moss Man into the Evergreen Forest. Teela, meet with the soldiers. I want to know who can fight and who can't."

"I'm on it," she replied, even though her face told him she had other things in mind.

"She-Ra, run perimeter. Stratos, Buzz-Off, get in touch with your people. Mekaneck, we're going to need the help of whomever you've got back at the cavern. Including Lubic. Have Gwildor take you over there."

He-Man grimed and looked them all over. "Part one is over with. Now things get harder with part two."

Afternoon passed into evening. The sun was low in the sky as plans were being made. In one of the towers of Grayskull, Duncan was lying in bed, resting. The door creaked open and the Sorceress entered, her eyes falling on the man that she had once had as a lover.

Duncan's eyes slowly opened, trying to focus on her. "Teelana . . .?" he gasped, trying to sit up.

"It is I, Duncan," she assured him, sitting on the bed and running her hands across his bruised face. "Rest and be healed."

She kissed his brow. Duncan felt a sudden warmth throughout his body. The fever was fading fast. His wounds began to heal. Even his leg, which was damaged even beyond the Sorceress' powers, was feeling better than it had in many years.

He sat up. "Duncan, lay back down. Your spirit may be willing, but your body . . ."

"No. I . . . I need to get to a computer . . ."

The Sorceress furrowed her brow. "What? Why?"

Duncan swung his legs out and stood up, his right leg full of pain immediately. "I've had this computer virus in my head for the past four years, Teelana. I can write it out in an hour. It may just be what we need to free all of Eternia."

* * *

At Moss Man's request, Fisto and Man-E-Faces dug a deep, seven-foot hole in the ground just within the Evergreen Forest. Moss Man struggled up off the ground and jumped right in.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" asked Man-E-Faces.

"Feeling better . . . all ready," Moss Man said, his seaweed-like tendril that hung from his barely humanoid frame now reaching into the deep ground. There was slight rumble and half the dirt pile fell right on top of him, burying him under three and half feet of dirt.

The strength of the Evergreen Forest and the power of the plants and ground filled Moss Man once more. He grew deep roots, tapping into his former power. He would grow into moonlight, just like the Lunar Roses. In two hours, Snout Spout would pour just three gallons of water in his hole, just enough to ensure his regeneration.

As Fisto and Man-E-Faces walked back to Castle Grayskull and Moss Man fell into a slumber-like regenerating trance, a mysterious figure approached where they buried him.

"Yes, I sense him," the figure said to his unseen benefactor. "So, Moss Man has indeed returned. This is good, right?" The figure paused. "I . . . well, let's leave him be. He has to deal with the Horde. Considering just how powerful Hordak has gotten . . . I know, I know."

The figure vanished from sight.

* * *

Duncan, leaning on a cane found somewhere within Castle Grayskull, stood in front of a holographic projector. Various equations and commands hung suspended before him, nearly flawless in their construction. He was just putting the finishing touches on it when the door behind him opened. Duncan turned around and saw Teela standing there, face beat red and eyes full of uncertainty. Right in front of her was a young boy, no older than three and a half.

"Well, hello there, young man," Duncan said, looking at the boy. "You must be my grandson."

Addison looked to his mother with uncertainty. Teela nodded and smiled. "That's right. That's your grandpa!"

"Addison, right?" asked Duncan sitting down onto the floor, which felt quite good for his poor leg.

"Yes," Addison answered, walking over to his grandfather.

Duncan shook Addison's hand . . . then pulled him in for a tight hug. Duncan smiled and looked to Teela. "You done good, kiddo."

Teela bit her lip and her eyes welled up with tears. "Really?"

"Oh yeah." Duncan pulled Addison back and looked him over. "He looks just like his grandpa!"

Teela laughed a little sat down on the floor next to her father and her son. "Yeah, I thought so, too," she agreed.

"So what do you think, Addy? What do you think of your grandpa?"

Addison took in the look of Duncan, which was quite a sight from when Teela had last seen her father. He was terribly thin and almost frail looking. Duncan was visibly older and abused. A full beard was now on his face as opposed to the simple mustache.

"Your face is hairy," Addison said.

Duncan laughed loudly, the first time in years. "Well, buddy boy, that's because I haven't been able to shave in a good long time."

"Is that because you were taken by the bad men?"

Duncan frowned a little. "Yeah. The bad men."

"Like that mean ol' Hordick?"

"Yeah." Duncan then pocked Addison in the chest lightly. "But you know what, Addison?"

"What's that, grandpa?"

"I'm gonna kick his butt for keepin' me away from you."

Addison found this rather amusing and clapped his hands. "Yay!"

Teela smiled a little. "Okay, father, we don't want to keep you from your work. You need to get some rest."

"Awwww," let out a disappointed Addison.

"Addison, its time for bed."

"But I don't want to go to bed!"

Teela turned stern. "Addison, I mean it. It's time for bed. I'll even read you a story." She turned soft. "How's that, huh? A story?"

Addison was unconvinced. "No story. I want to stay up with you and grandpa!"

"Grandpa has some work to do. Plus, he's tired too, honey."

"I'll make you a deal, Addy," Duncan said then. "You get ready for bed and _I'll _read that bedtime story. How's that?"

Addison looked to his mother for approval. She perked an eyebrow and smirked. "How's that sound, sweetie?"

Addison looked between his mother and Duncan, then finally nodded. Teela stood up and took her son, by the hand. It was a little surreal for Duncan.

As soon as they left, the Sorceress strode in and walked to Duncan's side. "Strange, isn't it?" he asked her.

She simply nodded. "I watched the boy today. He has yours and Teela's adventurous streak."

"Glad to see the legacy will live on," Duncan replied, smiling a little and adjusting a variable in the virus. "He's a beautiful boy. Wish things were different, but if there's one thing I've learning from our love affair it's that these things happen. Like father, like daughter."

The Sorceress smiled and squeezed Duncan's shoulder. "Indeed. I will leave you to your work."

* * *

Near midnight, things were starting to get straightened out. He-Man, She-Ra, Man-At-Arms, the Sorceress, Teela, Stratos, Gwildor, Mekaneck, and Buzz-Off all met in the throne room. All of the other Heroic Warriors were resting the in the northwestern tower. The Royal Soldiers from the cavern were keeping perimeter watch. U-R had the Starship Eternia sensors on maximum, keeping watch for any attack. Moss Man was still undergoing his regeneration and Roboto was recharging.

"I've spoken to all of the Heroic Warriors and they've all said the same thing," Mekaneck reported. "They're ready to fight tomorrow. They're tired of waiting."

"We all are," Teela added. "All of the soldiers are ready to fight tomorrow as well. It would be difficult to ask them to wait another day."

"Not to mention the risk of endangering Castle Grayskull," the Sorceress said.

He-Man took in a deep breath. "Okay. Based on what we can do with the Great Towers and on what Man-At-Arms has been able to create, I believe it is possible to launch an attack tomorrow. But that would require more than just a thousand Royal Soldiers and the Heroic Warriors. Stratos? Buzz-Off?"

"Both Avion and Insectia are prepared to launch a joint assault with Eternos," Stratos responded.

"From what I've been told . . . they've been waiting on you, He-Man," Buzz-Off said then.

He-Man nodded slowly. "We're all in, then? The Royal Soldiers of Eternos. The armies of Avion and Insectia. The Heroic Warriors. The Great Rebellion. We stand together. United. Ready to overthrow Hordak?"

"We do, He-Man," Man-At-Arms said then and set down a computer pad. "And I have here the secret as to how we're going to succeed tomorrow."


	9. The Liberation

Chapter Eight – "The Liberation"

* * *

Modulock and Vultak bowed before their master, the ruthless Hordak. Hordak sat upon his throne in the chamber that was once known as Hall of the Heroic Warriors. In his hand was the Sword of Deception, the black blade with the crimson jewel. The dark reflection of the Sword of Protection.

"Doom Tower fell, then?" asked Hordak, snorting a little.

"Yes, master," Modulock replied.

Hordak snorted. "And the army of Eternos? The Royal Soldiers? The 1,000 that we had captured there?"

"Gone," Vultak answered.

Hordak snorted again. "Dead?"

"No, master. They were teleported away," Modulock answered once more.

"And He-Man? She-Ra?"

"They have both returned," Modulock said, unable to bring himself to report that Adora and She-Ra were in fact one and the same.

"The Heroic Warriors?"

"Freed."

Hordak stood up and both Modulock and Vultak pushed themselves closer to the ground. Suddenly the doors of the empty throne room were opened swiftly. "Master Hordak!" shouted Mosquitor. "Please accept my apologies, but two people are approaching the Towers!"

"What?!" exclaimed Hordak. "Who are they?" As if he needed to ask.

"See for yourself, master!"

Hordak ran to the lift and up to the top of the Central Tower. He looked through a pair of binoculars at the figure. It was none of other than He-Man and She-Ra, both riding upon Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind.

"And so comes the day I knew would arrive," grumbled Hordak as the rest of Horde Elite assembled around him.

"I want a piece of them," Modu said from behind.

"Me too," agreed Lock.

The pair stopped just short of two miles from the Great Towers. He-Man took in the sight of the awesome and beautiful towers as they reached high into the air. He had missed seeing them and it sickened him greatly to see the Horde using them. Grayskull Tower was well fortified, as he predicted, but He-Man was for that.

He-Man and She-Ra sat upon their steeds. He-Man sat upon Battle-Cat, in his right hand the Sword of Power and in his left hand, the flag of Eternos. His left wrist also bore the Shield of the Galactic Guardians; on his back was the Battle-Axe of the Heroic Warriors.

She-Ra herself sat upon Swift-Wind. In her right hand was also the Sword of Protection. She held the flag of Brightmoon (which was in the Crystal Castle) and wore the shield of the Great Rebellion on her left wrist.

"HORDAK!" shouted He-Man, his voice amplified thanks to Castaspella. "IN THE NAME OF ETERNIA AND ETHERIA, WE HEREBY ORDER YOU TO WITHDRAW YOUR FORCES AND SURRENDER YOURSELF!"

"IF YOU DO SO," She-Ra continued for her brother, "THEN YOU SHALL BE TREATED WITH JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS!"

"JUSTICE?" shouted down Hordak. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF JUSTICE? AND YOU DARE STAND AGAINST ME – THE NEW MASTER ETERNIA AND ETHERIA!?"

"WE DARE!" they shouted together.

At that moment, the portal of the Cosmic Key opened up. The Royal Soldiers of Eternos, all 1,030 of them, poured out and joined He-Man and She-Ra. Leading the charge were the Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion. Other than the Battle-Ram and a pair of Sky Sleds, there were no vehicles in sight.

"THIS IS ALL YOU HAVE TO STAND AGAINST ME? I AM DISAPPOINTED!" shouted Hordak.

The doors of Central Tower and Viper Tower were thrown open and Horde Troopers began to pour out. As they lined up, they took aim, ready to attack a second's command. As they did, the weapons platforms moved along the monorail and locked onto the army below.

He-Man looked to She-Ra, then to Teela. Teela gave him a look of encouragement. He missed that, even when it was rare.

"YOUR DARK AGE ENDS HERE, HORDAK! ONCE AND FOR ALL!" She-Ra belted out.

He-Man pressed a button on the communicator. One word, but that was all they needed. As He-Man and She-Ra rushed forward, leading the army of Eternos into battle, a massive portal was thrown open in the sky. The Starship Eternia flew out, weapons blazing, striking heavily at the army of Horde Troopers.

"Destroy that thing!" snarled Hordak as laser fire began to exchange far below.

"Hordak! Look!" hissed Shadow Weaver, pointing at the portal.

Out from the portal came Avions and Insectoids . . . 7,000 of them. They swept down, striking at the Horde Troopers. Years of hiding in the Mines of Alluray had sharpened them, prepared them for this battle. Along with the Starship Eternia, they dispatched the weapons platforms on the monorail.

"Fight on, allies of Eternia!" shouted Garth of the Insectoids. "FIGHT ON!"

The Insectoids – mainly just the Bees, but some Tychons and Moths – sped to the ground, moving quickly to avoid attacks from the Horde Troopers. Their main weapons, their axes and picks, were at work, searing and ripping around Horde Troopers one by one. Buzz-Off grinned as he and brethren worked side-by-side once more. The Insectoids felt stronger than ever with Lord Buzz-Off leading them into battle once again.

The Avions, likewise, were more than ready to see and end to the Horde and to revisit their home amongst the sky. They were in both the air and on the ground as they unleashed themselves upon the Horde Troopers. Missiles and spears, the main weapons of the Avions, were in full use.

The Royal Soldiers of Eternos, only a fraction of their entire unit, moved with ferocity against the automatons that had broken their city and destroyed the kingdom they had long protected. These soldiers had been through the ordeals of Goblins, Orcs, Skeletor's Army of Darkness, Snake-Men, and even Count Marzo. They fought with the kind of intensity that was build upon a foundation of these previous battles and hardened by the time they had spent in incarceration.

Winds from Rotar and Sy-Klone. Extensions from Mekaneck and Extendar. Magic from Orko, Castaspella, and Glimmer. Ariel attacks from Pelicor, Stratos, and Buzz-Off. Water blasts from Mermista and Snout Spout. Laser beams from Rio-Blast and Roboto. Punches from Fisto and Man-E-Faces. Clamp Champ's clamp smashed through Horde Troopers as Ram-Man demolished them. Huge plants snagged many Troopers and ripped them apart. The Heroic Warriors were back.

"He-Man," She-Ra said, pointing to the top of Central Tower. Hordak stood alone up there. "I'm going."

"She-Ra, no!"

His protest fell on deaf ears. Swift-Wind's wings batted heavily and lifted both he and She-Ra into the air. The came to the top of Central Tower, where Hordak stood. She-Ra leapt off of Swift-Wind and the Pegacorn flew downward, away from Central Tower.

She-Ra pulled out the Sword of Protection.

"Hello Hordak."

Hordak snarled and snorted. "She-Ra."

Hordak pulled the Sword of Deception.

At that moment, Catra leapt between the two of them, bearing her teeth and claws and hissing. "I will take this one for you, Hordak," Catra stated, hissing a little.

"Stand aside, Catra," She-Ra said calmly. "This is between me . . . and your master."

"She-Ra is correct, Catra," Hordak said. "Our last few battles have been quite definitive, She-Ra. I hope that this is our final one."

She-Ra stepped forward, blade in hand. "It will be."

* * *

Below, He-Man and Battle-Cat smashed their way to Grayskull Tower. Since Hordak was in control of Central Tower, the power of the Great Towers would only give him access to Viper Tower. But Grayskull Tower responded to He-Man. With Man-At-Arms and Teela at his side and the other Heroic Warriors plus the Great Rebellion gathering up around him, He-Man lifted the Sword of Power.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL," he commanded, "I COMMAND THE DOOR TO GRAYSKULL TOWER TO OPEN!"

There was a long pause. The sounds of battle raged all around them. Then, the locks of Grayskull Tower came undone. The door swung open and He-Man entered, followed quickly by Battle-Cat, Orko and the rest of the Heroic Warriors. He-Man swiftly shut the door.

"Okay, how's everyone doing?" asked He-Man as he turned on the lights.

"We seem to be doing okay . . . for now," Man-At-Arms answered.

He led them forward. Down through a nearby door, into a corridor and up to another door, this one heavily locked. It led into a corridor that would take them into Central Tower. He-Man turned to the others.

"Get ready. I'm sure there's an army waiting for us on the other side." He took in a deep breath and then smiled. "It feels good to be by your sides again." His eyes fell onto Teela, who – even in this brief respite from battle – looked as beautiful as ever. "All of you."

The door came open. He-Man led the charge, shield before him, sword in hand. Laser blasts echoed and thundered through the corridor as the Heroic Warriors crashed forward, slamming like an ocean wave into the Horde Troopers before them.

* * *

High above, on top of Central Tower, the Swords of Deception and Protection rang out into the air. She-Ra was surprised by just how great of a swordsman Hordak was. He had indeed been most efficient in the Whispering Woods before the oil covered them, in the battle that cost her the Sword of Protection for years on end. But as they fought here and now, Hordak truly showed off his amazing skills.

She-Ra found every thrust blocked and every parry deflected. Her blade clanged ever so loudly against that of Hordak's, neither one of them drawing first blood. But She-Ra fought on, as did Hordak.

Her greatest enemy, her mortal nemesis. Hordak of the Horde Empire, which now blanketed it her homeworld with its darkness. No more. No more worlds would falls into Hordak's grasp.

She-Ra swung, kicked, then swung again at his left arm. The Sword of Protection sliced through Hordak's armor and blood went splattered. Hordak gasped just a little.

"First blood to you, She-Ra," he snorted and rushed forward, Sword of Deception at the ready.

* * *

The last time He-Man stood in the First Hall of Central Tower, he was telling the Heroic Warriors he was leaving. But now he stood with them again, along with some of the Great Rebellion. The First Hall was filled now with Horde Troopers, along with the Horde Elite.

"We need to get to the communications chamber," Man-At-Arms said to He-Man.

"On it!" He-Man replied. "Stratos! Glimmer! Forward!"

The Horde Elite moved against the Heroic Warriors as they came further into Central Tower. The Heroic Warriors leapt into battle.

Castaspella and Glimmer jointly struck at Shadow Weaver. Magical energy in the form of lightning bolts filled the room and struck down the terrible witch. Adding insult to injury, Orko dropped of a bucket of water on top of her.

Bow unleashed various sets of arrows, many of which unleashed nets around the in-coming Dragstor. With him down, Bow turned to Grizzlor, whom had taken Bow's eye over five years ago. Bow aimed for Grizzlor's eye, the arrow ready to strike. However, just as he was about, he felt his entire body drain of energy.

Leech stood behind Bow, his suction-cup like hands firmly planted on Bow's back. "Gotcha now, rebel scum," Leech laughed.

Just then, a metal hand grabbed Leech's head and pulled him back from Bow. Leech went tumbling past the man named Fisto and soon found his face planted with Fisto's right hand. Leech went down.

Fisto ducked, then, as pieces of Multi-Bot went flying overhead and slammed against the ground. Fisto looked to find Moss Man and Snout Spout responsible for that. Snout Spout then went over to Mermista, who had her eyes on Mantenna.

"I need some water, Snout Spout," Mermista requested.

"Of course," he replied and unleashed a small bit from his nose. It formed into an orb in Mermista hands. She then dropped it and commanded it to slither across the floor and right into Mantenna's path. Mantenna, of course, slipped in the water and fell right down.

"I think we can handle them," Man-E-Faces shouted to Man-At-Arms, He-Man, Teela, and Gwildor as they neared the lift.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," He-Man responded.

At that moment, Clawdeen – Catra's cat form – leapt up at them. She was quickly intercepted by Battle-Cat.

"GO!" shouted Battle-Cat, who was now fighting with Clawdeen.

He-Man nodded and the four of them entered the lift. It zoomed up two levels. As soon as the doors came open, He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Teela came out firing. Horde Troopers that stood in their path were mowed down. They entered into the nearest room, which was once the communications chamber. There, Professor Tempest of the Horde sat at the controls.

Professor Tempest hadn't time to do anything, He-Man bopped him on the head and knocked him out. Teela shut and locked the door. Man-At-Arms and Gwildor went to work. They removed a panel from the vast computer that took up most of the room.

Man-At-Arms pulled out wire and connected them to a hand-held computer unit in his hands. This unit was wired up to a box-like unit, which contained – among other things – Coridite Crystals. This was then rigged up with the Cosmic Key.

Gwildor and Man-At-Arms started to make adjustments to the Cosmic Key. He-Man eyes darted between them and the door. "I need to help She-Ra," he said at last. "Teela, keep watch."

She nodded and He-Man rushed out the door, which he then locked, went down the corridor. He sliced up every Horde Trooper in his way and went back into the lift. The lift opened. He-Man literally jumped out and ran up the final set of stairs to the roof. It was there She-Ra and Hordak were locked in battle.

"Hordak!" roared He-Man, Sword of Power at the ready.

"Ah, and now we play unfairly," Hordak laughed and shoved his Sword against She-Ra's, sending her back. He-Man entered the fray, their swords striking hard against the other.

Hordak swung first, but He-Man leapt back. Hordak swung in again and He-Man deflected it. He-Man swung in and Hordak blocked, then shoved forward. He-Man knelt down underneath Hordak's blade and kicked Hordak in the abdomen. He then struck up with the Sword of Power and knocked Hordak completely off-balance.

She-Ra jumped in and struck hard at Hordak. The Sword of Deception blocked the strike, but just barely. He-Man then came forward and slammed his Sword of Power against the Sword of Deception at the same time as She-Ra struck it with the Sword of Protection. There were small tendrils of lighting running across all blades as He-Man and She-Ra put the pressure on Hordak. As long as he held that sword, he would be tied to Etheria and he would remain as powerful as he was.

Hordak, of course, knew this as well.

"You think you can defeat me?" he questioned as he held his hilt hard against the two of them.

"Certainly!" He-Man responded and both he and She-Ra pulled their swords from his blade at the same time. Hordak stumbled forward and his face met with a double-punch from the twins. Hordak went flying back, up against the ledge of the roof.

"You will not undo what I have done!" Hordak exclaimed.

"Your empire has crumbled, Hordak, in just a matter of hours," He-Man replied.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" shouted Hordak. "Did you forget that I was once an apprentice to the Elders?! Did you not realize that I know many secrets that you could not even guess at? Did you not think that perhaps I know more about the Swords of Grayskull than you shall?"

At that moment, Hordak lifted the Sword of Deception up above his head. "FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF GRAYSKULL!" he cackled. Huge black lighting bolts came flying from the Sword of Deception. The Sword of Deception then started to glow crimson.

"Now . . . let's see who you _really _are," he said with a twisted, sinister smile.

Red energy beams struck out from the Sword of Deception just as He-Man and She-Ra went to move. The energy of the Sword of Deception blasted into the matrixes of the Swords of Power and Protection. It roared through them, overflowing, then pulling away.

He-Man and She-Ra were thrown back to opposite ends of the roof. The power of Grayskull flowed back into their swords and the twins immediately transformed back into Adam and Adora.

Hordak nearly dropped his blade at the sight. And while, yes, finding out that Adam was He-Man was indeed a major shock . . . it was nothing like discovering that Adora and She-Ra were one and the same. It made Adora's betrayal all the more bitter . . .

* * *

Man-At-Arms switched a final pair of wires, then turned to Gwildor and Teela. He nodded to Gwildor. "Do it."

Gwildor pressed a number of keys on the Cosmic Key, setting the coordinates. Last night and this morning, Gwildor, Man-E-Faces, Roboto, U-R, and Gleep all looked over Man-At-Arms virus, guaranteeing that it was right.

"Teela?"

Teela pressed her communicator. "All units, we are ready. Stand-by."

"Transmitting the virus."

Man-At-Arms pressed a few keys on both the computer unit in his hands and the computer next to him. On the monitor, it showed the transmission going out and each and every Horde Trooper receiving the order. The virus was fast, quickly re-routing various systems such as power distribution, piston control, signal processing, and communications. All of these waited for one command from the Central Tower.

"Virus is in. We're ready, Gwildor."

"Activating."

Gwildor hit the activation key on the Cosmic Key. But the tongs didn't open. Instead, the coordinates were sent through the transmission through the virus.

The virus itself was one of quite some genius and would be talked about for years to come. The virus' first part was re-routing all those systems so that the Horde Troopers would themselves become miniature Cosmic Keys. Feeding off their own power supplies and with coorindates being played as pistons against the interior of the armor, the Horde Troopers. However, with the exception of opening portals, the Horde Troopers were simply teleporting.

All across Eternia, the Horde Troopers were vanishing in swirls of blue and white.

After five minutes, 27,874 Horde Troopers vanished from the planet of Eternia.

They instantly appeared above a star two systems over, where all 27,874 of them were immediately melted into slag.

* * *

Adora was thrust into the air, Hordak's hand on her neck and gripping tightly. He shook her into consciousness. "You stood against me all those years," Hordak snarled. "YOU BETRAYED ME!"

"Didn't you think . . . it was coincidence that I . . . turned on you . . . right when She-Ra appeared?" choked Adora.

"DON'T MOCK ME!" yelled the mighty Hordak, red eyes piercing into Adora's blue ones. "I RAISED YOU! I CARED FOR YOU! I MADE YOU MY FORCE CAPTAIN! AND NOW . . ."

"You spent my entire life . . . lying to me . . . you didn't think that was going to get you in the end?" she gasped, his hold even harder.

He threw her to the ground and lifted up the Sword of Deception. "You shall die a traitor's death," he snorted. "Foolish bitch."

At that moment, laser blasts cut through the air, catching Hordak off-guard. Teela and Man-At-Arms arrived on the roof, and Mekaneck, Extendar, Glimmer, and a few of the others were in tow.

"Adam?" asked Teela, bending over to the Prince. "What are you doing here? Where's He-Man?"

Adam, who was shaking off the effects of Hordak's attack, looked up and watched as Hordak covered himself and Adora in a force field, sealing himself from the others. Adam looked to Teela, then to his sister, and then . . . to the Sword of Power.

"I'm sorry, Teela," he muttered and kissed her cheek.

"Adam?!" gasped Teela as he stood up.

Adam picked up the Sword of Power.

"Adam! What are you doing?" questioned Teela.

Prince Adam lifted up the Sword of Power and with one final look of regret towards Teela, spoke the words he had for over a decade.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

Teela and the Heroic Warriors watched, stunned as lighting quickly flared and stuck Adam's Sword of Power. Power poured and exploded from his body. In the blink of an eye, Adam was now the mighty He-Man. He held the Sword of Power across his chest.

"I HAVE THE POWER!"

The power quickly faded and He-Man looked to his sister and his enemy. He ran quickly and with intense strength the power of Grayskull, slammed his sword against the force field. It shattered immediately. He-Man then slid and swung his Sword of Power towards Hordak.

Hordak blocked it and struck at He-Man. He-Man blocked it as well and then punched Hordak across the face.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!" Adora then cried out, now holding the Sword of Protection. As He-Man dealt with Hordak one final time, Adora was transformed into She-Ra. "I AM SHE-RA!"

She-Ra rushed forward and the three of them began to their duel once again. "This ends now, Hordak, once and for all," She-Ra threatened.

"Indeed!" shouted Hordak.

Hordak made to blast them both, but He-Man and She-Ra lifted their shields. The blast was deflected. He-Man moved forward just as Hordak swiped at him. He-Man blocked it, the Sword of Power holding against the Sword of Deception.

She-Ra then came through from the button and with the Sword of Protection, slipped the blade up. She-Ra's Sword of Protection spun through and slashed off Hordak's hand.

His hand - along with the Sword of Deception - went flying off the roof. As the sword tumbled through the air, Zoar snatched it and carried it back off to Grayskull.

"Nooooo!" Hordak shouted. "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!"

She-Ra punched him the face hard and Hordak went back against the roof of Central Tower, unconscious.

And the Horde was defeated.

She-Ra turned to Glimmer and Castaspella. "Put every known sleeping spell you can on him," she ordered.

He-Man looked to his friends and companions, a guilty look on his face. "Uh, hey."

"You're . . . Adam?" asked Stratos.

"THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING!" shouted Clamp Champ.

"I knew there was a reason why Adam kept disappearing whenever He-Man showed up!" yelled out Ram-Man.

He-Man looked to Teela, who looked like she either wanted to vomit or pass out. Her face was pale, her eyes wide, and her jaw unhinged. He-Man approached her, having no idea what to say or what to do.

"I . . ."

"Is it true?" she asked harshly.

"Yes. I am Prince Adam. Prince Adam is He-Man."

Her face contorted into a wide variety of emotions. Most of which was anger.

"Teela, listen . . ."

"NO!" she shouted. "Don't talk to me! Just . . . I can't talk to you right now!"

Teela turned heel and ran down the stairs, pushing past the others. He-Man sighed and slapped his forehead. "Fuck."

* * *

After a few minutes of rapid explaining to the Heroic Warriors, He-Man went downstairs to meet with Gwildor. "Can you open the portal to Earth yet? With Eternia now clear of the Horde, I think it maybe safe to - "

Gwildor shook his head. "I'm sorry, He-Man, but the energy fields are preventing any portals to other solar systems from opening. I can open one to Etheria and any other planet in this solar system, but Earth is out the question . . . for now."

He-Man nodded and turned to She-Ra. "You catch that?"

She-Ra sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. What now, then?"

"We address the people, sis."

"As He-Man and She-Ra? Or as the new temporary King and Queen of Eternos?"

He-Man shrugged. "How about both?"

* * *

An hour later, after some conversing and planning with the rest of the Heroic Warriors and Great Rebellion, He-Man and She-Ra were given access to the communications array that spanned the globe – the holosphere. Their transmission would go out to every Horde-occupied land on the planet and every one of the kingdoms that were willing to listen.

Below, Avions, Royal Soldiers, and Insectoids waited for their message. He-Man and She-Ra stood at the door of Central Tower, alongside Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind. The Horde Elite were presently being contained the dungeons of Central Tower, all of them unconscious.

"Activate the holosphere," He-Man ordered.

Immediately, a faint blue light fell upon them. Their images and voices appeared worldwide. They had no idea that a year ago, Hordak made it mandatory to listen to these transmission at the punishment of death.

"People of Eternia, the Horde has been defeated!" shouted She-Ra. "Hordak's power has been taken away, the Horde Troopers destroyed, and his rule has been overturned. Eternia is a free world again!"

"We face now difficult roads ahead," He-Man then said. "Eternos has taken the brunt of Hordak's attack, though many other kingdoms are surely in the same state. I ask now that you wait one more night, for the Heroic Warriors shall be arriving in full force tomorrow to each and every prison camp, town, and village that was taken by the Horde."

"We also ask that you do not destroy the walls which surround the villages and towns. These walls were taken from the city of Eternos and need to be taken back," She-Ra added.

"As the sun sets, the age of the Horde ends," He-Man stated. "When the sun rises, a new era shall wash over Eternia. Eternos and all of Eternia will stand tall once more. She-Ra and I shall protect you as we rebuild are shattered world."

"But not only as She-Ra and He-Man," She-Ra said.

The twins then lifted their swords. Many watched with stunned expressions as He-Man and She-Ra shouted "LET THE POWER RETURN!" and transformed into Prince Adam and Princess Adora.

"As Prince Adam and Princess Adora as well," Adora then completed.

"Until our parents are found, we shall serve as the leadership of Eternos," Adam said. "People of Eternia, the shroud of the Horde has been lifted! LET THE LIGHT OF FREEDOM AND LIBERTY SHINE ON!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED IN "RETURN TO ETERNIA – BOOK TWO: WORLD TOUR!" Coming soon! 


End file.
